Promises of Forever
by dll10
Summary: Taylor Wahalla and Melody Varn, the first double imprint. The progression of their relationship as they experience all the stages of love involved with an infant imprint, told through kisses. Spin-off from the universe created by yay4shanghai.
1. I Have Always Loved You

**A/N: Any wolves you recognize from The Twilight Saga belong to Stephanie Meyer.**

**Basically everything else, including past and present wolf pack members, imprints, wolf families, and additional characters in this story belong to the universe created by the amazing, brilliant, and wonderfully talented yay4shanghai!**** She even has dibs on the plot… I just wrote it :)**

**Happy Holidays! I hope you enjoy this. I'll update this once a week, probably every Friday.**

**As always I recommend you read the other spinoffs by liljenrocks, ari11990, AsagariMelody, Guzhong, and twihardcaligurl. They are fantastic and worth taking the time to read. **

**Also, thanks laurazuleta18 for asking me to write this!**

**Thanks for being my beta yay4shangai, you truly are absolutely fabulous!**

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**I Have Always Loved You**

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10 December 2028

The moment I woke up I felt it. It's what woke me in the first place; the aching gnawing sensation that was tying my stomach up in tight clenching knots. It was earlier than I usually woke. I was sure of that because my room was still dark and generally when I get up it's brightly lit from the sun shining in through my window or there is at least a muted grey glow during overcast and winter days like this one. I also knew because other than the soreness in my tummy, I was still sleepy and I was never sleepy in the morning.

I curled up in a ball, very slowly inching my legs up against my chest with my knees bent under my chin and slipping a hand in between to place on the source of my discomfort attempting to hold it in place from where it was surly withering to escape. Even moving that much was excruciating and I fought the urge to cry out.

My head was throbbing too. A dull ache between my eyes and on the sides that felt like a steady build up of pressure pushing outward punctuated with intense pulses crushing inward. It seemed like my skull was a balloon being filled with periodic gushes of water and it was at the point where another surge would pop it, releasing its contents to spray everywhere.

I turned my face to bury it in my pillow, seeking the residual warmth from where my cheek had just been. This offered little relief when it was nothing more than a poor imitation of the true comfort I sought; the familiar and warmer heat that Taylor's touch provided. Not to mention the pillow did nothing except add a feeling of suffocation to the list of aches plaguing me this early morning.

It wasn't getting any better the longer I lay in bed. I wasn't sure what to do, but I couldn't get up to look for my parents either; it was too painful. I took several deep breathes, inhaling the scent of the yellow and orange butterflyweed flowers Taylor brought over for me a few days ago after I mentioned thinking they were funny looking, but very pretty. He said the reminded him of the sun and that always makes him think of me; I giggled and blushed a warm red when he told me that. I focused on breathing in more of their light fragrance while trying not to start crying. I had a feeling that would only make the throbbing worse.

"Mommy," I eventually whined, barely louder than a whisper. It hurt to talk any louder and even that much made me whimper.

My door opened seconds later and the overhead light switched on. From my position I only needed to pry my eyes open from where I had them scrunched tight against the on slaughter of brightness, to see my mother framed in the doorway. I blinked a few times then squinted with a frown while I looked at her because the added light made the thumping in my head worse. She had a headband on to keep her short cropped hair out of her face, but a few tangled strands had come loose and were plastered across her wrinkled sweaty brow like streaks of dirt. There were dark circles under her concerned eyes which were alert, despite her overall tired appearance. She was still wearing one of dad's old Quileute Tribal School grey gym shirts that I had seen her in the day before only now it was a little more rumpled and there was a suspicious maroon stain dribbled down the front of it.

I was the youngest of the triplets and my big brothers, Levi and Dev, had been sick with some sort of stomach flu for the last two days so she and dad were taking care of them. Mom made me stay away from them as much as possible, since I hadn't gotten it with them. She and dad were hoping it would skip me all together. I hated being apart from them. We usually did everything together, but this time I was left out.

Mom did most of the nursing because dad was busy with me. It was winter out and there had been a lot of snow this year so I was stuck inside, alone, unless he would take me out or play indoor games with me. I would rather Tay have been the one to keep me company, but he is taking college classes in Port Angeles so he's too busy during the day. He's like another big brother and he's my favorite one because he's also my best friend.

He comes over all the time and always hangs out with me. I love that he gives me lots of big cuddly hugs. They're the best kind of hugs too; they make me feel all warm and gooey inside like chocolate chips in fresh baked cookies. When he can't come over he calls and we always talk until mom or dad make us hung up. Tay never tries to end the conversation first.

Mom took in my appearance with a single assessing glance and rushed over to crouch beside my bed. She gently brushed the thick mass of straight shiny ebony hair I inherited from the Varn side of my family away from my face; I also got my lighter russet skin from them. The warmth of her hand was soothing and I sighed softly as it settled on my forehead and eased the pounding I felt there. Her hand was small and rough with calluses, but at least it was the right temperature and lovingly familiar. It was no more than a weak substitute for the solace I really wanted, but it would do for now.

"Oh honey, not you too." She leaned over me and lightly kissed my right temple next to my hairline then continued stroking my head as she sat back on her heels.

"I don't feel good Mommy," I groaned out pitifully. Saying the words made me wince as a stab of pain sent shocks radiating from my gut. I pulled my legs up even tighter hoping to stop it and prevent more of them from happening again.

"I know hun. I've got something that will make you feel better," she reassured me as she stood up. I followed her movement with my eyes, afraid to move or talk again in case that made it worse. "I left the medicine in the boy's room… I'll be right back with it," she explained as she quickly flew from the room.

Without her, the hammering come back twice as bad as before. I shut my eyelids to block out the piercingly bright light. It didn't really help. Precious seconds ticked by while I waited for her to return and I remained frozen until she did.

Hearing her footsteps beckoned me to search her out again until my gaze landed on her youthful and petite, for a wolf, frame. She was standing just to the left of the doorway in front of my short wooden dresser; it was painted white to match my toy box and nightstand. I watched as she poured some dark crimson syrup into a tiny clear plastic measuring cup. She looked at me and smiled before setting the brown glass bottle down on my dresser.

"Mel, I need you to sit up for me. Can you do that?" She asked quietly as she screwed the lid back on the bottle with one hand, the other still holding my medicine.

I nodded when she looked at me and carefully rolled my torso up then scooted back to lean against the wall with my legs pulled up and my arms wrapped around my middle again. My twin bed didn't have a headboard; I didn't want the walls covered. They were splatter-painted in various shades of orange, bright red, and white on a sunshine yellow background. Mark, Tay, and their friend Jace helped us redecorated mine and my brothers' rooms a few months ago for our fifth birthdays and they let us help with the painting in here. I love the room and loved getting to help. It was a lot of fun, especially since Tay let me sit on his shoulders so I could reach the higher parts and didn't get mad when I dripped paint in his hair or anywhere else on him.

Mom walked over and sat next to me on the edge of the bed. She reached the little medicine cup out to my lips, holding it for me and tilted it up when I opened my mouth. The cherry flavored liquid was thick and coated the inside of my mouth and throat as I swallowed it. It was strange, but not all that gross.

After setting the cup on my nightstand, mom helped tuck me back under the covers. Once I was settled, she started running her fingers through my hair. It made my scalp tingle and lessened my headache a bit, but it had no affect on my twisted, compressed abdomen.

"It'll take a little while to kick in… I'm sorry, baby," mom told me looking worried and in pain herself. "Do you want to try eating something—crackers or bread?"

"No, it hurts too much," I moaned, holding my belly tighter at just the thought of trying to keep something down.

"Okay… I wish there was something else I could give you to get rid of it." Her eyebrows drew together and the creases above them deepened further.

We sat in silence for a little while and I watched the wall across from me as natural light gradually filtered through the haze outside to trickle in.

"Do you want Daddy to come sit with you?" She spoke, breaking the silent spell. When I shook my head, she added, "or is there anything else that I can get you?" Mom asked, but looked like she already knew the answer.

"Yes—I want Taylor," I whimpered, thinking about how I knew he would make me all better if he were here. She sighed and I gave her a pleading look, hoping she would get him for me.

Tay always took care of me and fixed my bumps and bruises. He was my protector and he was good at it. He was always close by when we went to the beach, so I never even had a change to fall down because he would catch me first. When I fell off my bike and skinned my knee, he cleaned and kissed it making all the pain disappear. And last time I was sick he rubbed my tummy and the heat of his hand made me all better.

"He can't come right come right now. Mel, you know he's got classes all day, but he was planning on stopping by tonight. You'll get to see him then, alright?" She carefully explained, upset about not being able to give me something that I wanted when I was in pain.

"Please… just call and tell him I'm sick," I begged in a whisper already knowing she wouldn't, but trying anyways because I knew he would come if I asked him to.

"Why don't you try and get some rest, honey. We'll see how you feel after a nap then decide… how does that sound?" She questioned, obviously wishing I would agree with her suggestion.

"Okay… will you ask Daddy to sit with me then?" I went along with a nap because I was tired and if I couldn't have my Taylor medicine right now, I was hoping sleep would help me forget about my belly, but I didn't want to be alone and dad was a closer alternative for Tay than mom was. I was also knew that he would call Tay when I woke up, so arguing was just going to make me have to wait even longer to see him.

"Of course… I'll go check on the boys and send him back here." She patted my head one last time and stood up. I watched her grab the medicine cup and bottle as she made her way from the room.

I closed my eyes while I waited, but I was anxious to hear how they were feeling today and without mom's warmth, I hurt worse.

"How are they?" I asked when dad entered, opening my eyes again to see him pause in the door to turn off the light before making his way over to me. He looked just as tired and rumpled as mom did.

"Fine, honey… they're much better, so don't worry about them… just close your eyes and go to sleep," he whispered softly as he climbed in bed with me and wrapped me in a little heated cocoon made out of his arms. It helped me drift off while breathing in his familiar fall and pumpkin pie scent.

I didn't feel any better when I woke up. I had uncurled my body and my back was pressed against my dad still. Considering he was still watching over me, I don't think very much time had past or he would have probably needed to leave in order to relieve mom and check on Dev and Levi.

I went to roll over but it felt like my entire abdominal area was being wrung like a wet towel. I gasped at the suddenness and clutched at my stomach, folding in half again.

"Mel? Honey, are you okay?" His concerned voice sounded a little frantic and his hands rapidly moved over me to check for himself.

"Daddy, my tummy still hurts… really bad… I need Tay—he always makes me feel better," I groaned through clenched teeth and between whimpers. I was on the verge of tears because I wanted him so much and was certain he would take the pain away. There was nothing Taylor couldn't do.

"Okay, Mel. I'll call him and let him know you're sick… see if he can make it here as soon as his last class gets out instead of waiting until dinner, but I can't promise anything. Be right back," he told me tenderly then disappeared out the door.

A few minutes later mom came in and told me Taylor would be over as soon as he got done. I was disappointed I had to wait and I didn't want my belly to keep hurting until he got here. When I said as much, mom made me take some more medicine. After that, she tried, unsuccessfully, to convince me to eat a few saltines or sip some ginger ale. She was in the middle of begging me when she stopped then shook her head smiling at me.

"Looks like you're in luck, Mel," she said as she walked out of my room, closing the door behind her.

I was confused about what she meant by that. It had only been about twenty minutes, so he wouldn't be here yet. A knock sounded at the front door just after I thought that. Taylor! It had to be him, it just had to be.

Just thinking about him being here and getting to see him made me feel a lot better. Not enough to get up and see for myself, but better than I had. I heard voices in the hallway and I strained to make out the words. I didn't have to try for long because they were getting louder, as if the people were walking towards my room and stopped just outside my door. I heard another door open and shut.

"Hey Michael… how are they doin' in there?" The voice was still too muffled to make out clearly. It made me want to call out for him to see if he was really here.

"They're good. I think they'll be over it by tomorrow," I heard dad say. "You sure got here fast…but aren't you supposed to be in class right now?" He asked, chuckling. It must be Tay, what he said wouldn't make sense for anyone else. My heart rate sped up in anticipation.

"She's more important—you know that," Tay said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. I love him so much for that. He's the most important person in the world to me too, although I would never admit that to Levi or Devlin, they came in just behind him—tied.

"I know and I love you for it, but don't mess up your schooling. You have finals next week and flunking out won't help her any…not to mention what Kim would say if that happened," mom told him affectionately, softening the serious words. I could have told her that would never happen; Tay was way too smart to fail.

"Don't worry," he chuckled confidently then rushed to add, "I emailed my afternoon Profs letting them know it was a family emergency…I'm good to go." He explained simply, opening the door as he said it. I saw him shrug at my parents before his head turned to see me. He didn't have a shirt on and I could see little water spots from where the snow flakes had melted against his skin.

My room was small, but once he stepped in, the room shrank further, until his tall toned body became the focal point. This always happened; it didn't matter if the room was the size of a broom cupboard or if we were outside in an open meadow, there was just something about his presence that dominated over everything else.

"Mellie! Hey sweetie… how are you feeling?" He sounded so very worried, as his long lashed gaze roamed over my entire person. In that short amount of time all of the water managed to evaporate from his skin.

"I don't feel good, Tay. I need you!" I exclaimed holding my arms out for him. He was there in a flash, carefully scooping me up and sitting down half-reclining himself with me in his lap huddled close. I buried my face in his neck sucking in deep whiffs of his refreshing aroma.

"I heard about that… that's why I'm here," he whispered, gently and lovingly stroking my hair. "Where does it hurt sweetie?" He urged me to tell him so he could help.

"My belly," I said pointing to it. He moved his other hand to the spot immediately and lightly traced small circles. The warmth was incredibly soothing. I sighed in relief feeling a little better with each revolution of his hand.

We sat like that for a while before Taylor asked, "how's that sweetie? Are you feeling any better…is this helping?"

"Thanks, Tay," I said nodding into his neck.

"Will you eat some crackers for me?" He asked, reaching for some when I nodded. I knew I could with him here and that it would make him happy if I did.

I munched on crackers while he told me about his morning, including walking out in the middle of a lecture when my dad called; that even made me giggle.

Taylor stayed the rest of the day with me. I made him tell me stories because I didn't feel up to talking, but most of the time was spent quietly lying in his arms where his comforting heat worked to loosen the bound and tied loops of my stomach. He didn't leave me once, not even to check on my brothers, whom I know he adores almost as much as me.

In the early evening, usually when we have dinner, I was beginning to dose off. Tay made me take some more medicine and waited in the hall while I changed into a clean night shirt. It was one of his old t-shirts and it fell down past my knees and my little hands only just stuck out past the ends of the sleeves. He gave me a bunch of them after I told him I needed something of his to help me sleep at night and keep the bad dreams away when he couldn't be here.

My parents came back to tuck me in and wish me sweet dreams and Tay slid in with me after changing out of his low hung denim jeans and into a pair of my dad's navy basketball shorts; the blue jeans chaffed my skin and Taylor got upset when that happened. He rubbed my belly again like he had off and on all day, knowing the extra moving around and being away from him had made it worse again.

"Will you stay with me tonight? I need you to watch over me… you keep the pain away; it makes me feel better," I whispered up to him heavy-eyed and punctuated with a long yawn. I blinked several times very slowly, each one taking longer than the last as I waited for his answer.

"I'll always be here if you want me to be," he promised simply, but I heard the strength behind the words and knew that he meant it and I could always trust him to keep that promise.

"I love you, Tay." I told him sweetly.

I reached up to link my arm around his neck and pull him towards me. He let me pull him until his face was only an inch from mine. My tired eyes refocused when they locked on his and my half closed lids opened fully. I was sucked into the dark depths of his loving eyes and I smiled a charming little adoring grin and he returned it fondly.

Closing my eyes I smelled his fresh clean scent and appealingly sweet breath as I felt each exhale surge against my face. Using my hooked arm, I pulled myself across the gulf separating me from him in that final inch and allowed my slightly chapped lips to gently brush his in the lightest of caresses. He didn't move, so again, my dry lips touched his full, silky smooth, moist lips with a little added pressure for the briefest of moments before I leaned back against my pillow.

"I love you too, Mel," he leaned in to whisper in my ear. He released the words to float on the humid air that fanned over the shell of my ear and sent chills down my arms leaving goosebumps in their wake.

He slid an arm under me and pulled me to him so I could snuggle close so I could use his chest as a warm pillow and listen to his steady heartbeat as I felt the rise and fall of this chest with each breath he took. I sighed in content as he rubbed gentle circles on my back, lolling me to sleep.

Just before sleep claimed me I heard him mutter, "cherry."

~*~ ∞ ~*~


	2. You're the Only One for Me

**A/N: Any wolves you recognize from The Twilight Saga belong to Stephanie Meyer.**

**Basically everything else, including past and present wolf pack members, imprints, wolf families, and additional characters in this story belong to the universe created by the amazing, brilliant, and wonderfully talented yay4shanghai!**** She even has dibs on the plot… I just wrote it :)**

**I forgot to include this before, so I'll mention it now. Taylor is the second son of Jared and Kim Wahalla and he imprinted shortly after his 14****th**** birthday on Melody Varn the day she was born… it was an eventful day for him ;) She is one of the triplets born to Michael and Anna Varn; both are wolves that phased during Breaking Dawn after Jacob split from Sam's pack.**

**As always I recommend you read the other spinoffs by liljenrocks, ari11990, AsagariMelody, Guzhong, and twihardcaligurl. They are fantastic and worth taking the time to read. **

**In spin-off news, intiMACYx33 just started a new story called The Complicated Steps to a Simple Love. It's about Melody's cousin Eli Uley-Varn and Ava Lynch. It's already super sweet, so check it out!**

**Thank you yay4shangai, for being my beta, because honestly, what other beta could get a chapter back so fast? You're amazing!**

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**You're the Only One for Me**

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26 August 2034

He was standing in my doorway, looking, as he always did, like he just stepped out of a magazine or off a runway—only hotter. It was nearly impossible to believe I was awake, because he looked even better in person than he had in my dream last night. The actual Taylor was better than any fantasy version I could ever think of imagining. A real life prince charming and he was _mine_—or at least he would be, eventually.

I wasn't much of a girly-girl, being the only female in a set of triplets and growing up exceptionally close to my brothers hadn't done much to nurture my feminine side. About the only time I was, was when I hung out with Jesse or Annie, and even then I'd rather be outside horsing around with Levi and Devlin. But I don't think it's possibly for any girl to resist the enchanting allure when one of the Quileute wolves comes knocking at your door and good luck not falling in love if you're his imprint. Several have tried, Soledad was the most current rebellious victim, but they all end up giving in at some point.

And now my wolf was here. I devoured the sight of his long toned body. His left shoulder was pressed against the molding, propping him up with a leg bent, crossing the other ankle, so only his toes were touching the ground. His naked upper body exposed an expanse of perfectly sculpted muscle dressed in pale coppery skin for my eyes to feast on and I zeroed in on his arms where they were folded across his chest.

I loved his arms. I love every part of him, but I have a particular fascination with his arms. They were deceptively strong, like steal cables accept comfortingly soft and soothingly warm, so I loved the feel of them wrapped snuggly around me. I had memorized that feeling, but longed for the real thing whenever it was absent, knowing my memory exponentially paled in comparison. Nothing else had the ability to make me feel so secure and loved as being in his embrace. It was as if his arms formed a barrier and nothing bad could ever reach me.

My scrutiny of his amazing body ended by following the sleek lines of his lean torso down to his narrow waist and over the prominent ridges of his defined hipbones until they disappeared beneath the denim edge of his faded cut-off jeans. Looking at him like this always sent a spike of heat shooting through my center and caused a hitch in my breathing that made my head spin until the edges of my vision blurred.

Eventually I would look up at his face, the best part of him, but I couldn't get there until I finished admiring the rest of him or I wouldn't be able to, because once I looked at his face I became entirely engrossed and forgot the rest. Right now, his expression, or lack of the one I hoped for, was the first thing I noticed. I was disappointed. He was watching me intently, but just as fondly as he ever had, not examining me with any of the same desire I had when I looked at him. I kept waiting for him to look at me, to look and finally see me. To notice that I was growing up and love me the way I loved him. That couldn't happen soon enough for me; it already felt like I had been waiting forever.

Making an effort to help things along, I pushed the thick mass of my long dark hair over my shoulder so that the tangles were hidden behind my back and tried to smooth down the top, because I was sure the bed head look wasn't helping me any. Looking down, I realized the rest of my appearance wasn't much of an improvement. Sighing, I worked on straightening the baggy shirt I wore to sleep in last night, on of his just like I'd always worn. It did little to enhance my gangly preteen body, which I thought largely resembled a beanpole, but I hadn't had a chance to change out of it yet.

I rarely slept in, no one in my family did, and today I was actually up earlier than usual thanks to Dev. He was always the first one awake on special occasions and made sure to wake Levi and me up right away as well. Today was our eleventh birthday and he was up extra early for it. He and Levi had shown up to jump on my bed as Dev cheerfully shouted, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" repeatedly.

They hadn't let up until they were positive I was awake, which they figured out when I caught Levi's legs, making him crash into Dev. They fell like dominos, tumbling to the floor. Looking over the side of my bed at the pile of entwined limbs had me giggling hysterically until well after they managed to untangle themselves and race out of the room with plans to wake mom and dad if they weren't already up after all the racket we had been making. I only had time to stand up after that before I saw Taylor.

He was smiling, clearly amused, when I glanced back up at him. Pushing off of the frame, he walked gracefully towards me. I was a little surprised he had waited this long. We were usually touching somehow whenever we were around each other, glued together tighter than the forces bonding oppositely charged atoms.

I was tall for my age, just barely shorter than my brothers, but he still had to bend down to lift me up, which he did immediately once reaching me. He held me close and gave me a brief squeeze when I locked my boney legs around his waist, just above his slim hips, and slide my arms around his neck so that we were as close as physically possible. I nestled my forehead against his neck, content to never move again.

"Happy birthday munchkin," he turned his head to whisper in my ear, the unexpected gust of damp air sending chills down my spine. I jerked back to glare at him, but didn't release the death grip my body had on him.

"Don't call me that, Tay!" I sighed and poked his chest, a little angry that he had, but mostly just exasperated; even more so after my reaction made him giggle.

"Sorry, Mellie," he said sincerely. I rolled my eyes and pursed my lips to hide a smile when I saw him giving me such an earnest look that it was impossible to be mad at him.

"That's, umm—not really much of an improvement." I informed him very matter-of-factly, causing his gorgeous grin to appear. It gave my stomach butterflies and made my heart stop for a moment. Blinking several times allowed me to shake off the dazed state and remember that I was serious about wanting him to stop thinking of me as a child or a little sister though, so I starkly asked, "I'm not a little kid anymore… or hadn't you noticed?"

"I know you're not," he said quietly, not looking at me, and I thought he sounded a little sad. I was relieved he saw that I was growing up, but it worried me that he regretted the fact or perhaps wished it weren't true. So when I frowned, he hugged me tighter and wryly added, "trust me—I've noticed."

Falling forward against his chest, I gave his cheek a quick kiss then enthusiastically hugged him again. That was the best birthday gift I could have asked for. Hearing that elicited a surge of elation so powerful that it made me feel invincible, like a shot of pure adrenaline. I was positive that nothing could prevent us having a romantic future together and I was anxiously anticipating the day it started.

I was reluctant to release him and delighted that he gave no indication of wanting to let me go either. It never got old breathing in the concentrated levels of his fresh clean scent that I had access to in his embrace.

"How come you're here so early?" I mumbled into his neck after remembering how early it was and that the party didn't start for hours yet. I heard his heart rate speed up and felt the pulse in his neck throb faster before he answered.

"I have a surprise for you," he whispered clandestinely, his body's reaction captured my interest completely while his words aroused my curiosity. Moving to see his face, I saw excitement written all over it and felt it's catching affect.

"Really?! What is it?" I squealed eagerly, squeezing his shoulders like I could wring the answer from them, in my sudden impatience to find out what it was. "Tell me… please," I implored, drawing out the E sound when I tacked a please onto my demand and smiling brightly.

"I made a special breakfast for you," he revealed, giggling as he set me down.

Grabbing his hand, I raced to the kitchen, towing him behind me with his laughter floating in our wake. Bypassing the table where my family was seated, we continued undeterred until we reached our goal.

"Well? Where is it?" Voicing the questions after a quick search left me very confused. I didn't see it when I looked around the kitchen or when glancing back at the table to make sure it was empty and that I hadn't missed it when we zipped past.

Tay turned and reached up to pull something from the top of our refrigerator, effectively using his body as a shield to block me from seeing what it was immediately. Too impatient to wait, I maneuvered under his partially upraised arm, darting forward so that I was positioned in front of him. I stared in astonishment at the tray of about a dozen orange iced cupcakes held between his giant russet hands.

"No way!" I exclaimed in surprised disbelief, excitedly bouncing on the balls of my feet as I reached for one of the yummy sugar concoctions that looked so much like the ones his father was famous around the rez for making.

A moment later, Tay stepped around me, blocking me from the danger zone when Dev and Levi came stumbling in, roughly pushing and shoving as they tried to beat the other and be the first to score one of the tasty treats in Taylor's hands. Dev's roaring laughter filling the kitchen as they came at us. It was too close to call from where I was standing and they took off again once each had acquired a cupcake.

Taking a bite while I watched them, I was shocked at how amazing it was. It was still warm from only recently coming out of the oven and there was an extra sweet saturated region at the top, about a half inch deep, from where some of the whipped frosting had melted into it. The icing was extra thick since he knew it was my favorite part. I always loved everything Tay cooked or baked for me, but this seemed unusually good for him, and not his father, to have made it. Tilting my head back up, I found that he had been studiously watching me eat and was nervously waiting for my reaction.

"You made this?" I asked dubiously, gesturing to the half eaten sweet in my hand.

"Yup," he confirmed, popping the P. He puffed out his chest and smirked proudly when I took another bite and gave him a satisfied hum to let him know how much I loved it.

I laughed at him while I finished eating it. He handed me another after seeing me eye the counter where he had set the rest just as I finished swallowing my last bite. I smiled sweetly at him for it, before quickly working my way through this one as well, listening to him brag, "I went to my parent's house earlier so I could use my dad's recipe and made them there this morning."

"You're going to ruin her appetite, you know," I heard mom say dryly and turned to see her and dad watching us from behind the counter that separated the kitchen and dining room.

"I'm allowed to." Taylor said arrogantly, covertly shooting me a confident smile that had me stifling giggles. "What? It's her birthday… I'm supposed to spoil her," he insisted with a sheepish grin after noticing the skeptical looks both of my parents were pointedly directing at him.

"And here I was, worrying about the imminent sugar high… but since you're already planning on spoiling her—you can be in charge of keeping her and the boys entertained while we set up for the party," dad offered cheerfully as he walked over and clapped Tay on the shoulder thoroughly amused. I heard mom snickering about it too.

They were all relatively distracted at the moment, so I figured this would be a good time to try and sneak another cupcake. My hand had just closed around one, gripping it a little too tightly as I lifted it, causing icing to ooze between my fingers, when dad's head snapped towards me. I froze, unsure what I should do. His eyes narrowed in on my outstretched hand hovering above the tray then followed a thick glob of orange goo that picked this inconvenient moment to drip from my pinky finger and plop onto the wooden countertop. I gave my captive audience an impish smile then used the pointer finger on my other hand to swipe the frosting up and pop it in my mouth to lick the sugary vanilla goo off, making them all laugh.

"And if they get sick… you're cleaning it up," dad added casually, turning his head back towards Taylor.

Tay chuckled and I stepped over so that I was against his side, immediately slipping an arm around my shoulders pulling me even closer. I took a bite, a big one, then smiled up at him and offered the rest, which he happily accepted leaving me to free to work on sucking my frosted hand clean.

"How'd you manage to make those…I thought the kitchen was off limits on days when Jared was baking for a big function," mom asked curiously.

"I got in there before he even woke up this morning." Taylor said laughing between bites. Once finishing, he asked, "are we still good with tomorrow and next weekend?"

Dad nodded as he lightly tossed a cupcake to mom, which she deftly caught, and grabbed another for himself before they left the room with quick goodbyes.

"What was that about? What's happening tomorrow and next weekend?" I asked eagerly, looking up and softly hitting his stomach a few times with my sticky hand in excitement.

"Oomph," he grunted grabbing my hand and hunching over slightly like it was hurting him. I rolled my eyes knowing it hadn't and waited for him to answer me. "You're spending the day with me tomorrow and you'll find out then what's happening next weekend." He looked and sounded so excited, like a little kid on Christmas morning.

His expression turned mischievous then and he bent down to whisper confidentially, "you'll get your real present tomorrow, but you can't say anything about it because it has to be kept secret."

I got ready after agreeing to that, already anticipating whatever Tay had planned for me and rushing so I could get back to him sooner. We spent the rest of the morning playing tag and a two on two game of soccer with Levi and Devlin in the clearing beside our house.

The party was a little more somber than a lot of the usual pack gatherings and there were several notable absences. Tay's sister Amber and her husband Solace were in Seattle, not coming since the Ateara family was. Leah and April were also in Seattle and unable to make it. The missing Call family had the biggest impact though. They had moved out of town just last month and everyone was still feeling their loss a little, particularly Randy and Tay's other sister Annabelle. Randy was depressed because his imprint, Soli, was included in their exodus and while that didn't bother Annie any, she was missing her friendship with Soli's brother Freddie. It also wasn't as much fun for me to be around Annie now, because she and Brady were becoming closer than ever and I couldn't help feeling a little jealous that she was making progress where I was not.

There were a few relatively new additions, however, since Phil brought his imprint Tara and her girls, Chloe and Ava. They had come by our place a few times before and have quickly become regulars at the other pack events. Tara was really sweet and I got along with the girls really well. I was even helping teach Ava sign language and she was turning out to be a very apt pupil.

The best part of the day came when we were all outside eating dinner and somehow a food fight started up, I blame Dev. Everyone really got into it and I laughed so hard when Uncle Mark "accidently" nailed Trisha in the face with some chocolate pudding that he later swore he'd been aiming at his twin David, who happened to be standing beside her at the time. The party wound down pretty soon after that.

~x~*~x~

It wasn't even eight when dad dropped me off at Tay's apartment the next morning and I had wasted at least half an hour beforehand pleading with him to take me that early. He'd stayed until I fell asleep the night before, but I already couldn't wait to see him again. I'd worn my raven hair loose since I knew he loved how long it was and also made sure to apply some shiny, sweet watermelon flavored lip gloss before leaving.

He was still living in the apartment Solace gave him before moving to Europe. I remember not liking the place very much at first. It was all Solace, dark and brooding, which I always thought had a sinister feel that just didn't match Tay's friendly and peaceful personality. Over time it's morphed into being an open, brighter, and less lavishly decorated home that really reflected Taylor's Buddhist beliefs. He even had a corner of the sitting room cleared with only the Buddha statue Amber brought back from her honeymoon for him.

There were two bedrooms and he always said the second was mine, but I had never used it. I kept some stuff in it for when I stayed over, but I always slept with him in his bed. I even had my own key, so I let myself in when I got to the door, not bothering to knock, running forward only to be caught round the middle and pulled back two steps in.

"Surprise!" He'd been waiting for me, I thought, laughing when he started tickling me. "So do you want your present now or later," he asked after a minute or two of making me squirm while his fingers assaulted my sides.

"Now, please," I entreated hopping up and down, slowly inching backwards, working my way discretely down the hallway towards where I assumed it was.

"It's not wrapped, okay," he warned as he dogged my movements.

He reached out to grip my shoulders, stopping me, then turned me around and loosely covered my eyes with his soft hands, plunging me into total darkness even though my eyes were still open. His skin felt hotter than normal after recently being outside in the cool morning air and they were so huge that most of my face was covered, all except my mouth. Nudging me forward, he guided me down the hall; the thick carpet muffled our steps along the way. He turned us right after about fifteen steps and after being here so many times, I knew that we had just entered my room.

"Ready?" He asked upon stopping just four steps in. I nodded and his hands instantly fell away, dropping down to rest on my shoulders.

I gasped, rapidly moving my eyes over the bed as I took in the various ropes, harnesses, aluminum rings, and protection carefully arranged across the deep crimson covers. I couldn't believe it.

"Is this for…," I finally managed to ask, but trailed off before I finished, completely overwhelmed by the site before me, unable to look away and speechless again.

"Yup." He confirmed with a nervous giggle.

"My parents will kill you if they find out," I breathed out, barely audible as I turned to stare at him in amazement.

"That's why we aren't going to tell them." He informed me sternly and I knew he was serious about that. I wouldn't have told them anyways; I would never betray Tay like that and put him in danger for doing something with me that we both knew they would flip over. He continued, adding, "but you do have to promise to only use it with me."

"So next weekend—," I asked after processing that, not that I would want to with anyone else anyways, but he cut me off.

"Yea… I took off work for Labor Day and told Anna and Michael that I was taking you camping since it's a long weekend and you don't have school, so we can use it then," he told me, sounding about as thrilled as I felt by our plans.

I looked back at the bed, still unable to believe what I saw, that it was real and right in front of me—rock climbing equipment. I had wanted it for so long, been begging my parents for months and months to get it. They always said absolutely not, that it was too dangerous, but now Tay had gotten it for me.

"Thank you… thank you so, so much, Tay," I whispered a little choked up. I was so touched that he had done this for me. I knew how expensive this stuff was and he didn't make tons of money working as a police officer in Forks. Plus, he was trying to pay off his student loans.

I didn't think about it first and it wasn't planned. I honestly didn't know what would happen beforehand, I just acted on instinct, letting my body automatically carry out my desires. I spun around and leapt at him, propelling myself upward like a diver off a springboard.

He was ready for me. Anticipating my reaction, his massive warm hands landed perfectly on the small indention of my waist, a recent development that was only just starting to become noticeable, although that might just be wishful thinking on my part. His touch was light as it easily guided me through the air towards him to compensate for the change in momentum instead of letting me crash into his chest, which would have felt like slamming into a brick wall. Every fluid movement carried out flawlessly as if he were a seer and had watched this happen in a crystal ball so that he would know exactly what to do.

I think that's why it caught him so off guard when I did it, because he was definitely unprepared when it happened; especially in comparison to the moments leading up to it.

The second I was close enough, I grabbed the sides of his face, determinedly holding it in place with all the strength I could muster out of my pitifully weak and scrawny arms as I hurriedly bent forward. I kept my eyes locked on my target as I headed towards the bulls eye his perfect, pouty pink lips provided, afraid I might misjudge their position throwing my aim off if I didn't. I couldn't let that happen in case I didn't get a second chance. Not to mention, the only thing capable of making me tear my eyes away right now, was having the opportunity to taste them.

My nose got in the way, bumping his and blocking me when I was millimeters from my destination. Suppressing a groan of frustration at the unexpected hindrance that slowed my progress, I tilted my head so that it was angled to the left just enough. A pent up sigh of relief escaped me as my eyelids fluttered closed when the shift brought my lips in contact with his.

Their scorching heat surprised me for a moment. I didn't remember it being this intense during any of the innocent kisses I stole when I was younger or experiencing the pulsing burn rolling through me from my core with the touch of his lips. All too soon, my newly ignited raging desire was dampened and the extreme feelings faded as all initial thoughts of this being my first real kiss were dispelled at the realization that he wasn't participating—at all.

His only reaction was an all over stiffening of his body as he tensed and a barely discernible increase in pressure where his hands were gripping my waist harder. It wasn't enough; it never was. His every touch was cautious like I might break. I was stronger than he realized and I ached to have him hold me tighter, tighter than he ever had, wanting me so much that he did it without worrying that it might hurt me.

Encouraged by the fact that he hadn't stopped me yet and that he wasn't rushing to do so now either, I moved for the first time since our lips touched, hoping to entice some sort of a reaction from him. I lifted my long dangling legs one at a time to enfold his bare waist between them and bring me closer to his ridged body. Then I slide my hands past his adorably small ears, which you never saw because they were hidden beneath his shaggy hair, and into said hair, curling my tiny fingers around the soft locks and gently tugging. Still nothing.

So far, my lips had been stationary, our upper and lower lips each in direct contact with their mates. I decided to experiment with the pressure of our connection first, feeling how the soft, moist contours were reshaped when it changed, flattening out so more of their surfaces were touching when it increased. I pushed my body flush against his, the action causing my slickly glossed lips to slip down so that his bottom lip was between mine and if possible, Tay tensed even more.

Finally a reaction, not the one I wanted, but something. Eager for more and deciding to interpret what I wanted to be true from it, I hoped that meant he liked this development and that I should explore it further.

Parting my lips a little more, I gently sucked on his sweet full lip, bringing more of it into my mouth. It tasted so good, like lemonade and my watermelon lip gloss. Feeling playful, I nibbled on the tender skin and softly pulled on his hair again, then lightly traced its length with the very tip of my tongue. Doing this rekindled the warmth I felt earlier, but it was just a muted simmering in my stomach now when faced with Taylor's steadfast indifference. Groaning and longing to feel the passion I had earlier, I released his lip from the prison of my mouth and broke the connection.

Dipping back just far enough to look in his eyes, I took a deep breath to fill my oxygen deprived lungs then whispered, "please, Tay," as I exhaled.

It felt like it had lasted longer than an eternity. It felt like it had been more fleeting than the blink of an eye. I wondered if it had actually even been a minute, a full sixty seconds, or if it mattered at all as long as it would happen again. I wanted, no—needed, it to. I'd even beg, but only if he wanted me just as much.

"Melody," he said tiredly, pausing to release a heavy sigh that from my proximity, I easily moved with the rise and fall of his chest as well.

It hurt. It was so much more painful than I cared to admit. I loved him. I was in love with him, but he wasn't in love with me. My chest was tight, unyielding. Each breath was an excruciating effort with my ribs acting like a boa constrictor, squeezing my lungs. I stared, unseeing, somewhere other than at him. I couldn't look at him, couldn't face seeing anything except desire reflecting back at me and I knew I wouldn't see that right now and feared I might never.

"Please don't be sad. I am so sorry I hurt you sweetie." He beseeched, his voice somehow sounding as pained as me and it immediately drew my eyes back to him.

"Why don't you love me? I thought you were supposed to," I questioned, confused from what I'd heard and seen of imprinting.

"I do! You're my whole world—my everything! And not because I'm supposed to… please, please don't ever think that's why. I would have loved you even if I hadn't imprinted. That just brought us together—made me a part of your life, so I could be whatever you needed and I am so happy it did," he declared honestly, trying to convince me.

"Then why don't you want to be with me? All I need is you."

"You have me—I'm right here, but you're really young, Mel… a little too young for that sort of thing still. Listen, what you really need, is to enjoy being a kid for a while longer and stop trying to grow up any faster… and, uh—uh, well… I just don't see you like that right now. It'll happen soon enough—but you can't rush it."

"But what'll happen if you meet someone else in the meantime," I asked thinking of how Solace married Tay's sister despite having an imprint and about how jealous I had been the time I saw Maddox kiss him. I wasn't sure I could survive ever seeing him with someone else or live with never being with him myself, so I voiced that fear, "or you never see me like that?"

"I belong to you—only you. And I have every single day of your life since the moment I saw you… that will never change. Someday, if I'm still what you want, then we'll be together. I'm yours for as long as you want me," he said looking intently in my eyes and brushing a loose strand of hair behind my ear. His light touch caused a tingling across the surface of my skin all over my body.

"Promise? Even if I'll always want you?" I had to ask, I couldn't help still being worried.

"Promise." He said confidently, reassuringly, and leaned down to gently kiss my forehead, letting his lips linger for a few moments. He gave me an affectionate smile when he pulled back and I returned it before another thought occurred to me.

"You're not planning on making me wait too much longer—are you?"

~*~ ∞ ~*~


	3. I Exist To Love You

**A/N: Any wolves you recognize from The Twilight Saga belong to Stephanie Meyer.**

**Basically everything else, including past and present wolf pack members, imprints, wolf families, and additional characters in this story belong to the universe created by the amazing, brilliant, and wonderfully talented yay4shanghai!**** She even has dibs on the plot… I just wrote it :)**

**Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed, it means the world to me!**

**As always I recommend you read the other spinoffs by liljenrocks, ari11990, AsagariMelody, Guzhong, twihardcaligurl, intiMACYx33. They are fantastic and worth taking the time to read. **

**Thank you yay4shangai, for being my beta, you're wonderful! And did you know she's a genie? Because she is, honest, she grants wishes… promise! She granted one of mine the other day :)**

* * *

**I Exist To Love You**

* * *

31 December 2035

There were less than ten minutes to go until midnight, till 2036. I just wanted it to get here already. The room felt suffocating, stuffed with a few too many unnaturally hot strapping men, it was like being in a can of sardines forgotten outside, left to roast under an endless summer sun. Sweat glistened on my skin, but not attractively. No, this was the kind that beaded on your forehead, made your hair stick to your neck, and left wet marks on the clothes under your arms. The noise of the den was grating on me, until it had begun to resemble the screeching sound of long fingernails scraping a blackboard, I was even shuttering from it.

I'd been looking forward to this party for quite some time now. Almost two months to be exact, my anticipation had spiraled to new, previously undreamt of, heights with each passing day, expanding exponentially as the day drew near. Ever since I found out Soledad had attempted to sleep with Taylor at some point in the past. They hadn't, Tay promised me they hadn't, but it still burned every now and then when I thought about it, mostly during the last couple days for some unfathomable reason, leaving me raw and my emotions exposed afterwards. It felt like someone had scrubbed my brain with steel fibers then hooked it up to a projector so anyone could view my deepest fears on the subject.

I wasn't mad at him about it or her really either, I couldn't exactly blame her for being attracted to him, an attraction I understood all too well, but I hated the thought of someone else being with him while in the mean time I was trying my hardest to grow up faster so that we could finally be together. I was being patient now so I wanted to believe he was too. I hadn't tried to kiss him again in the last year and a half, not once on the lips since my failed attempt when I turned eleven, and I was determined not to try and force him to be with me sooner than he wanted again either.

That decision was made before I found out about Soli though. Earlier this week, when Tay took me over to his house, I confided in Annabelle about how I couldn't stop thinking about it. I hoped that she would have some advice now that she and Brady were really together and because this was her brother and they were close. She had convinced me that the midnight kiss on New Year's Eve would probably be my best shot of getting him to make a move if I was serious about not pushing him.

She'd even helped me search through her closet and let me barrow one of her old dresses since we were both tall and thin and she still had a few things left over from before she hit puberty and filled out. We found a coral strapless tube dress that fit snuggly and reached just past mid-thigh, with a practically undetectable gold sheen that complimented my muted russet skin tone nicely. It had a very lightly padded origami-pleated bust that gave me the illusion of having curves. The dress was gorgeous and it made me look older—perfect. I wanted to wear it all the more after Annie told me she thought it used to be Soli's and that she'd left it way back when Amber still lived there. It seemed appropriate somehow.

Ever since that conversation, my blood had been pumping double time or faster even, racing through my veins at the speed of light, causing my pale copper skin to glow and a rosy flush to stain my cheekbones like blush. And I was filled with a sizzling vitality that left my body vibrating when it didn't take very much convincing for my mom to let me wear it and by hearing her promise that dad would be alright with it too.

Then this morning happened. I woke up feeling like crap. There was no other way to describe how the fever and achy joints felt or the occasional tremor that pulsed from head to toe and left me tense and prickly. It didn't go away all day and I knew Levi and Dev felt much the same. We must be coming down with something and when one of us is sick, we all are. What rotten timing, but there was no way I would let it interfere with me attending the pack festivities held at Sam and Emily Uley's this year. Not now that I had my hopes up about the possibility of receiving a legitimate kiss from Tay. Levi and Dev were just as excited about going, so as one we decided not to let anyone in on us not feeling a hundred percent.

I spent an hour getting ready, the longest by far I had ever taken to get ready and even let my mom curl my inky black hair. It didn't really work, the thick mass was too heavy, but I did end up with a smooth, sleek waterfall of hair cascading down my back some gentle swirling loops along ends, which wound around my waist much like the eddies in a waiting pool beneath the falling stream of water. She also showed me how to apply some onyx mascara and eyeliner, something I had never bothered with before and didn't use much of now. As a final touch, I applied some of my favorite coral tinted, watermelon flavored, extra slick lip gloss, which also acted as a lip plumper. I could feel the little tingling pricks of it working as I smacked my lips a few times.

Dev and Levi both stared at me in befuddlement for a long time once I emerged from my room then shared a worried look that I couldn't help giggling over. I was taller than them for the first time ever since I'd also snagged a pair of strappy heels from Annie's closet. They weren't all that tall, but they gave me an edge over the boys.

Dad came up and kissed my head, helping me into my coat whispering, "I can't believe how grown up you look… you're beautiful, Melody."

"Thanks, Dad. I love you," I murmured back as we headed out.

I didn't see Tay right away when we got there and it irritated me more than it should have. I barely noticed the twisted ribbons of silver and gold streamers draped around the living room or the metallic Happy New Year confetti littering the floor that were speared by my heels as I walked around. It took at least fifteen minutes of idle banter with people carrying black disposable plates of chips and sandwiches before I met up with Tay in the kitchen, where I had escaped to when the press of people had threatened to make me pass out as waves of dizziness scrambled my equilibrium. There were only a couple others in there right then and they didn't pay any heed to us.

"Happy New Year's, Mel. You look nice tonight," he said sweetly, smiling happily as he moved to hug me.

I huffed and moved over to sit at the table, indignant that he hadn't had a stronger reaction, although I immediately felt guilty for overreacting. Confused and frustrated, I really didn't understand why it distressed me so much or why I had let myself get so worked up about it.

"What's the matter? Are you okay?" He asked sounding pretty confused as he slid over to kneel in front of me, his movements as fluid and effortless as a snake's.

"Nothing—I'm fine… these shoes are just killing my feet, that's all," I muttered as a quick excuse, bending over to undo the gold buckles and remove the shoes, avoiding eye contact in the process.

"Here, let me help… you shouldn't be wearing heals like these yet anyways," he offered, chuckling as he reached out to massage my feet, but I placed them firmly on the ground and stood up to stop him, feeling the simmering cauldron of annoyance progress into a rolling boil at his comment.

"They're fine," I said not quite able to mask the bitter resentment I was feeling.

This night was not going at all as planned, I thought as I tried taking a few calming breathes that allowed his fresh soapy scent to penetrate the glowing red haze bordering the perimeter of my mind. Forcing a smile in an effort to try and enjoy myself, I remembered how much I wanted to be here and concentrated on that, hoping to ignore the crabby side affects that apparently went hand-in-hand with my raging fever.

"Let's go see what everyone else is up too," I suggested casually.

I looked up then, finally meeting his worried eyes. Seeing his concern prompted me to make a little more effort and actually enabled me to give him a real grin. He nodded, his tense posture relaxing only an infinitesimal degree and not losing even a trace of the worry glinting in his beautifully long lashed, maroon-flecked dark eyes, but following me anyways into the other room.

For the next few hours I had remained sandwiched against Tay just like usual and even managed a few genuine laughs that helped put him more at ease. I ignored my own discomfort, which only increased as I remained in such close proximity to my very own personal furnace, where I could practically watch the heat distorted tendrils of air wafting off of him and snaking around me with their constrictive, smothering grip. Standing there, I pretended that the crush of bodies and his heavy scorching arm encircling my waist weren't seriously trying to kill me, because I refused to leave Tay's side for a single instant, despite the urge to seek refuge in the rejuvenating frosty winter air out back. I took solace in the fact that while in his arms, I hadn't had a single tremor and that we were eventually shuffled into a position right next to the doorway of the kitchen, because at least standing there, I had fresh cool air blowing onto part of me.

With about a minute to go until midnight, I saw Levi disappear past me and silently exited out the back door. I looked over to see that Dev had noticed too and he nodded as he strode past to let me know he would check and make sure Levi was alright. The whole encounter seemed to go unnoticed by all except the three of us. I was worried and wanted to check on my brother, but I couldn't because in a moment of pure selfishness, I decided that Levi could wait another sixty seconds or so, while I could not if I hoped to fulfill my goal of the evening. I was too close to the finish line to give up now, I thought glancing up at Tay.

"Ten!" The crowd called, beginning the countdown just as I felt a razor sharp stab of resentment directed at Taylor slice through my gut making me flinch in surprise.

"Seven!" They continued chanting. I couldn't stop my feelings either, knew they was illogical, but felt them regardless.

"Five!" I heard, but right then I was angry that I had to choose between them at all.

"Three!" Angry that I had to put my brothers' needs on hold and—

"Two!" Angry that I was reduced to desperately hoping for something that by all accounts should already be happening.

"One!" The chorus of that number being shouted cut all further thoughts on the subject short for the time being when I realized the long awaited moment was at hand, so I focused in on Tay's breathtaking face as he smiled excitedly down at me.

"HAPPY NEW YEAR!" Rang out, quickly followed by the pack's boisterous, off-key rendition of Auld Lang Syne, while Taylor bent down towards me.

It felt like it was happening in slow motion and nothing else mattered except us right now, because I suddenly realized that, that was how it should be. My eyes fluttered close as he got closer and I felt the feather light caress of his breath on my cheek when he exhaled; it was cool for the first time ever and strangely soothing, making me sigh in content. A moment later I felt the velvety touch of his dewy lips—on my cheek.

He kissed my cheek. My. Cheek. He kissed my cheek and not only that, but he jerked back the very second his lips made contact with my skin as if I repulsed him. My eyelids snapped open and my eyes popped out much like a jack in the box, my incredulous, buggy eyes stared up at him in astonished disbelief.

"You're burning up. Are you okay, Mel," he asked immediately, bringing a hand up to feel my forehead. I was inexplicably mad at him for asking when he should have been kissing me senseless and I swatted his hand away, not wanting him to touch me right now unless it was with his perfect scrumptious lips.

It felt like what I had imagined as a fire raging inside me before, had actually just been a banked pile of barely smoldering cinders, but not anymore. Now, I swear it felt like I had unexpectedly linked up with the gates of hell and they were open, with the fires within unleashed upon me and they were currently trying their damndest to burn me to a crisp. Soon there would be nothing left of me except a charcoaled shell that would rapidly crumble into a pile of ash and blow away in the wind.

"Great… I'm just great. Gee, thanks for asking," I replied as sarcastically as possible, hoping my words would wound him as deeply as his rejection had just wounded me.

His eyes widened in surprise and reflected just how painfully my response had hurt him. Seeing it there made me feel disgusted with myself for ever purposely hurting him. I was completely mystified about where this sudden anger had even come from; I was never angry, but even now I felt it bubbling up inside me preparing to lash out again. Even more perplexing, was how I could actually feel worse than I already had physically. Not knowing what else to do I turned, making my way through the kitchen, and towards the back door where my brothers had exited a minute ago, stumbling a little on the way since my legs were trembling again.

"You should cut him a little slack. He really loves you, Melody… and you have the power to hurt him more than you seem realize," Kim's sage voice sounded, stopping me in my tracks.

"Stay out of it, Kim." I threw back forcefully, almost hatefully.

The second I said it, I regretted it, slapping my hand over my mouth in shock, as if that would prevent anything else from coming out of it tonight. I had never snapped at Kim like that, I loved her dearly and respected her sound advice. Seeing her face, I think it shocked her just as much as it had me. Horrified and on the verge of tears, I bolted out the door, barefoot, desperate to get away before she could respond to my thoughtless remark.

I found the boys immediately. Devlin looked panicked and he called me over the second he saw me. He was signing to Levi, asking, 'What's going on? Are you okay? Levi, talk to me!'

But Levi was unresponsive, his eyes were glazed like he couldn't even see us and he was shaking violently.

"Mel, I don't know what to do! He's been like this since I got out here… maybe we should get someone," Dev frantically told me while signing to Levi, 'I'm going to get dad, is that alright? Do you want me to?' Apparently he was hoping for some sign of approval before doing so and all I could do was stand there, stunned and scared.

Levi held up his hands then, to ward us off, and Dev pulled me back, comprehension lighting up his features as if a flare gun had just gone off in his brain illuminating the answer. We were just barely back far enough when he phased, sprouting fur and nearly doubling in size. I couldn't prevent the terrified scream that issued from my mouth at the suddenness of seeing it happen.

The sound alerted the people inside and within moments the house had emptied as the party goers flooded into the backyard to investigate what all the commotion was about. Dev was up instantly and blocking anyone from trying to get closer to Levi while Taylor was at my side in a heartbeat, pulling me farther away and checking to make sure I hadn't been hurt. Yelling to get my attention when I didn't answer his questions right away, too busy staring at the wolf now residing in the spot my eldest brother had been standing in moments ago. We ended up standing slightly apart from the rest, going relatively unnoticed by the others.

It was pandemonium and I struggled to take everything in, watching as Mark phased the second he got outside and saw Levi, but not even a minute later Dev began screaming at him after seeing Levi lay down and bury his head under his massive, dinner-plate sized paws so that only the gleaming tip of his black nose and his ears down to the black marking around their base were visible. His paws were huge, it seemed impossible to imagine him ever growing into them, but I knew he would.

"Stop it! Can't you see you're upsetting him?! Stop it," Dev screamed, running over and rapidly punching Mark's shoulder several times, completely shocking everyone present.

They froze, staring at Devlin utterly baffled by his behavior and words. I realized then that I wasn't the only one experiencing unexpected and unfamiliar bursts of rage today. Dev was always seen by everyone as quiet and polite, a total sweetheart by everyone. He had a serious mischievous streak and he can also be an absolute goofball, but he very rarely showed that side of himself to anyone outside of the immediate family, so most would likely discount any claims of him causing problems and they certainly wouldn't believe that he was capable of his current behavior. That was why it was so perplexing to suddenly see him hitting, screaming, and cussing at an uncle whom he adored, although they shouldn't have been considering he has always been fiercely protective of his family, particularly Levi.

Mark phased back and immediately placed a comforting hand on Dev's shoulder when he noticed him shaking.

"I'm sorry," he whispered to Devlin then looked over at Jordan to say, "I think it's the words, Jay… see if you have better luck." Jordan nodded, phasing after quickly stripping.

"So this didn't cure him then? He still can't hear?" Mom spoke up then from beside dad where they were both kicking off their shoes, stopping to look at Mark, devastation clearly written all over her face.

"He's still deaf," Mark confirmed sadly, knowing he was demolishing any lingering hope my parents still clung to about Levi ever hearing. Dev and I both started shaking as we watched our mom slump back against dad in defeat looking utterly destroyed.

Tay immediately hugged me tighter whispering softly in my ear to distract me, urging me to relax, take deep breaths, and calm down while Mark talked to Dev. I tried to listen to his advice, but found just the sound of his soothing voice to be the most comforting as I looked on while Mark stopped my parents from phasing once mom had pulled herself together shortly after that.

"It'll just overwhelm him right now. Wait just a little bit while Jordan talks to him, okay," Mark said understandingly.

No one left and dad just held mom tightly against his chest while they watched on, probably feeling as helpless as I did just standing there. Mom and dad had tried to approach Levi, but stopped after seeing how it made Devlin start shaking when they did. They looked distraught; I realized that they were trying to keep him from phasing too. That scared me, so much, because I knew that I had the same symptoms, the same fever, shakes, and angry mood swings that they had. I didn't want to phase. I wasn't supposed to. I could tell Taylor was trying not to freak out too. I could feel it in the way he held me, hear it in his voice as he repeatedly whispered in my ear, alternating between saying I'm sorry and breathe, but I already knew it was too late, that nothing could stop it now for either of us.

A very, very short while later Devlin proved me right by bursting into another sandy wolf without any further preamble. He was almost identical to Levi, although not nearly as big. Levi rushed to his side, nudging him while Mark phased again. Mom and dad began debating whether they should or not, but Jordan shaking his furry head at them not to again decided for them.

I was shaking now too, unable to contain it any longer as I fought back tears. Pushing hard away from Tay, I staggered forward, falling after a few steps due to the force of the convulsions rattling my frame.

"Melody?!" Several voices cried out, along them Taylor and my parents who were rushing over, now aware that it was happening to me too.

"Oh no, not her too," mom muttered worriedly as she crouched down beside me, stroking the top of my head. I looked back to see dad and Jared on either side of Tay, each gripping an arm; I addressed him first, he was my most pertinent concern.

"Go away, Tay. Please, just go," I begged, still trying to fight it, but unable to stop wanting him gone if I did. It was just too embarrassing to have him see me in such a state.

"Mel! I'm not just going to leave you right now. You need me! Let me help you, sweetie," he said frantically.

"No! I don't want you here to see it—please, Tay," I whined painfully and heard Dev growl at him from a little ways away. Taylor slouched forward, hanging his head down and letting his dad lead him back to the house. I caught sight of Kim and that's what did it, the final straw that tipped the scale. Remembering how I yelled at her not even an hour ago.

"Anna, get back—now!" I heard dad call an instant before I phased.

It was horrible. A jumbled mix of imagines and words bombarding me at once, nonstop from two minds, competing with my own disordered ramblings and add to that two others voices, both, well mostly just one, trying to offer advice and instructions, all thoughts clashing and fighting to be heard at once within my head. I wondered if they'd ever tried to deal with three newbie wolves all phasing at once before this.

_**No.**_ I heard and it startled me to hear someone answer my silent question. Ugh! It's not silent though, nothing was right now.

I buried my head under my paws like Levi had earlier, but it didn't block anything out because they were all just buried with me, including someone who's mind seemed to be a continuous dialogue of everything that was happening, including interpretations of our reactions and how we felt about what was currently happening.

_**I know! Wicked confusing isn't it?**_ That was Dev, back to himself and as happy-go-lucky about everything as he always was.

His other thoughts letting me know how excited he was to try out his new skills, eager to see how much he could get away with now. I watched as he began hatching a plan that involved the sheet off his bed, the roof, and his new healing abilities.

_**No!**_ Both Mark and Jordan commanded simultaneously, but Mark's voice was different. His rang out in a deep double baritone that I had only ever heard a few times in my life, but hearing it now had me cowering and I heard Dev whimpering next to me.

Levi was in front of us, alternatively nudging Dev with his snout then me, and I saw flashes of written words or pictures of the hand signals objectively narrating as much of what was being thought as possible.

_**Oh! It's for Levi, right?**_ I wanted to smack myself for not catching on quicker.

_**Hi sis. Are you okay?**_ Levi asked timidly, almost unsurely. He sounded worried, scared, and totally lost all at once. I hated it. I wanted to hug him so much right then or do something, anything to make it easier for him.

_**Me too, Mel.**_ Dev said seriously. Both of our minds were racing about how dangerous this could be for him and I was starting to panic just thinking about it.

_**He'll be just fine.**_ It was Jordan. It was more reassuring than I expected to hear him just then.

_**He's right. Right now the two of you need to be concentrating on phasing back, so you need to try and calm down if you want to do that.**_ Mark said and I lifted my paw a little to look for him, instead I saw a torn piece of shimmery coral fabric.

_**My dress! It's ruined…**_ I trailed off sadly, having really liked it and disappointed that I wouldn't get the chance to ever again.

_**It wouldn't have fit you anymore anyways now that you've gone wolf, or did you forget that we're going to grow a ton after this? In like, three days or something crazy like that, we'll be full grown!**_ Dev reminded me, seeming a bit blown away himself that this was the case.

_**Oh! Will it already be noticeable when I change back?**_ That means… I pictured my flat chest getting at least as big as Annie's, but hoping I'd get lucky and end up with Amber's curves, that would be awesome!

_**Ugh! Damn it, Melody, enough with the imagines. Don't forget we're in your head.**_ Dev rebuked me.

_**Yea, don't think about that shit. **_Levi threw in. Fuck! I forgot for a second. This was entirely mortifying.

_**Knock it off you two. Try not to make this any harder than it is already going to be for Melody. This is a part of who you are now and it's something you'll have to get used to, so do it—quickly.**_ Mark scolded them and their instant, genuine remorse was way too much for me right then. I took off, running around to the side of the house so that I at least had the illusion of escaping them.

_**Mel, don't leave the front yard, okay, and stay out of sight. If you see anyone outside, you'll need to come back here again.**_ Mark said, while thinking about how difficult this must be for me.

I was grateful for the reprieve when Mark focused on helping Dev phase back then. I tried everything he was saying too, but it wasn't working. I was even more frustrated when Dev did manage to a minute later. Levi was still struggling to, but he was starting to make some progress, not much, but a little.

_**This wasn't even ever supposed to happen to me!**_ I shouted at Mark.

_**I know, Mel. I'm so sorry it did. Do you want me to have Anna phase now? It might help to talk to her, work some things out so that it's easier to phase back. **_

_**No I don't want my mom in my mind right now! How would you like it?!**_ I didn't want to see my mom right now. I felt like I let her down. She had never said it to me, but I had heard her say she didn't want me to end up a wolf like her, but now I had.

_**You shouldn't think like that. Anna loves you, being a wolf won't change that. She only wants you to be happy. And I did have Sam in my head. Things were a little different with us, but I do understand where you're coming from. What about Taylor then? I'm sure he's really worried about you right now and would love to help you.**_

_**No! Please don't, Mark.**_ I'll be naked, he'll see and what if he doesn't like what he sees?

Taylor. He made things more confusing about why I phased. I was an imprint, which should have excluded me from the potential wolf list. Especially if imprinting was really about passing on the wolf gene, because female wolves can't have kids until they stop phasing. I mean, yea, I am the child of a female wolf so it is possible, but it seems harder this way and isn't passing something on all about survival of the fittest, which usually entails the easiest possible course.

My rambling thoughts were interrupted when Dev sat down beside me at the corner of the house, just out of view of the front yard, and began petting my head. I whimpered looking up at him. He looked completely exhausted in his borrowed sweatpants, but he still smiled kindly at me.

"Come on, Mellie. You gotta calm down. Everything's goin' be alright, you'll see," he whispered lovingly to me. It made me what to cry, especially when Levi came trotting up and laid down a little ways away, his thoughts troubled and completely centered on me.

"I love you, sis, but look… you're making Levi worry about you and you know as well as I do that he won't stop until he knows you're okay. I need you to phase so he can. Will you try, for me?"

Trying to ignore the other voices in my head, I breathed deeply, inhaling the pine scent my brothers each had and noticed Levi also smelled of oranges while Dev had a lighter airy scent instead. The familiarity was helping.

It might have been almost morning before I finally phased back, I wasn't sure how much time past before I was lying curled up in a naked, sweaty ball on the hard frozen ground, a sobbing, blubbering, pitiful mess. My hair was hopelessly matted and every muscle in my body burned, feeling like I was being tortured with the rack and worse just by moving as much as it took to suck in the few measly gasps of air needed to continue crying and the gentle shaking that occurred while I did so.

At first one thought, one pathetic thought, ran through my mind on repeat, this was not how Taylor was supposed to see me naked for the first time. Groaning I brought my hand up to cover my face, to shield my humiliation and devastation from the others, and my hand landed on the tangled, knotted clump, the dirty, ratted balled state that my hair had been reduced to. I know it was stupid, but realizing I would have to cut my hair off, my long silky hair that Tay loved to run his fingers through, made me cry even harder. I vowed never to cut it shorter than the length he kept his shaggy locks.

I hardly noticed when a soft and fluffy fleece blanket was wrapped securely around me or when I was lifted up into the comforting embrace of familiar arms, too busy crying over the pain and cursing fate. The pain was numbed though, only an all over ache now. That registered first and I looked up through the blurry film of tears coating my eyes to see that Taylor was carrying me. I blinked repeatedly for a couple seconds to clear the water obscuring my vision, letting it leak out the corners of my eyes to follow the path so many had already traveled this morning, and he glanced down at me. The second our eyes locked I felt it.

"Oh!" I gasped out. He stopped walking and smiled, understanding exactly what I was feeling right then, because he had already felt it himself.

I had always thought I loved him more than any other person, but now that knowledge was beyond contestation. My priorities reshuffled themselves, leaving Tay unquestionably in the number one spot while Levi and Devlin tied, coming in very much second with no hope of ever surpassing him. I had tunnel vision, the rest of the world dimmed and blurred as he snapped into brighter, clearer focus, more perfect and substantial than I could have ever possibly imagined.

Of course that had been before my enhanced senses, but I had no way of knowing then, no way of truly understanding how consuming and all encompassing an imprint was without feeling it myself at this level. Now they actively utilized themselves for me to see Taylor, while ignoring everything else. It was like looking at a storm system from above and he resided in the eye, the only clear stationary point that everything else revolves around.

I couldn't cry anymore, my exhaustion and pain no longer matter either, because it hurt Tay to see me suffering and hurting him hurt me worse. It was still there, present, but just static in the background like at a movie theater when people talking a few rows back during the show, kind of like how I didn't even notice if there were people watching us now, but still knew there were. It was all a little overwhelming, this whole night had been, and I needed some form of reassurance, something to ground me, to keep me tethered to reality right now.

Loosening my arms from their burrito style confines within the blanket, I pulled them out to loop lightly around Taylor's neck. He held me closer when I did, drawing me in until our faces were practically level. I continued moving, bringing our faces together, connecting at the lips. Inclining my head, I softly slid my trembling lips over the perfect pout his lips formed, tilting my chin towards him to seal their bond as I took a breath to savor the moment. His clean aroma was the most appealing fragrance in the world and smelling it now made me lightheaded and my stomach drop in the best way imaginable. Like the thrill you felt riding a rollercoaster. It was tender, loving, brief then, just before pulling away, I felt the slightest increase in pressure from him, making my lips form the brightest, happiest smile I'd ever smiled before. Leaning back to look into his mesmerizing cheerful eyes, I saw that his expression mirrored my own.

"I get it now," I murmured, understanding his feelings for me and what the imprint really was, for us at least.

Maybe I am happy to be a wolf after all, I thought, snuggling closer so that he could carry me home, tipping my head back so that I could watch as his brilliant, loving smile remained steadfast the entire way.

~*~ ∞ ~*~


	4. For Better or Worse

**A/N: Any wolves you recognize from The Twilight Saga belong to Stephanie Meyer.**

**Basically everything else, including past and present wolf pack members, imprints, wolf families, and additional characters in this story belong to the universe created by the amazing, brilliant, and wonderfully talented yay4shanghai!**** She even has dibs on the plot… I just wrote it :)**

**Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed, it means the world to me! This is a really long chapter so I hope everyone will take the time after reading it to let me know what they thought of it. **

**Also I waited to post this until after ari11990 posted the latest chapter of Never Trust A Werewolf, because the events of that chapter happen just before this, so if you haven't read it yet, go do that first! :)**

**As always I recommend you read the other spinoffs by liljenrocks, ari11990, AsagariMelody, Guzhong, twihardcaligurl, intiMACYx33. They are fantastic and worth taking the time to read. **

**Thank you yay4shangai, for being the greatest beta I could ever ask for!**

* * *

**For Better or Worse**

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29 August 2036

"Melody, you need to get dressed." I heard dad's flat, emotionless voice being projected from down the hall, just barely loud enough to be heard through the barrier of my sealed door, but it still managed to shatter the silence of my room.

I kept my eyes firmly shut against the noise. I was trying to fall back asleep, to make the time pass faster and hopefully avoid what was planned for today. I didn't want to get dressed. I didn't want any part of today's proceedings. It was too soon; I didn't, well actually I couldn't even believe it was real yet. Besides, wasn't it enough that I got up this morning, showered then ate breakfast in the kitchen? That was more than Levi did.

I contemplated ignoring him altogether. He wasn't likely to notice anyways. Maybe I'd get lucky, he'd see the darkness in my room and think that I had actually fallen back asleep and let me be. If I stayed in the safety of my room long enough, it might just be possible to pretend none of this was happening. If I ignored it long enough, perhaps pretend would become reality or if I waited, eventually I'd find out it was all just some colossal mistake and I wouldn't ever have to face the things currently in store for today, like when people were so sure the earth was flat and you've fall off the edge if you went too far.

I had the shimmery reddish-orange and shear yellowish-gold abstract pieces of cloth drawn across my window forming an asymmetrical shield that blocked out the incoming sunlight. It was too bright out. It had been everyday since the battle and it just wasn't right. The sun had no right to shine today or any of the last three days, not that I had paid much attention to most of that time, but it was supposed to be dark, dreary, damp; an oppressive atmosphere to inspire an appropriate mood. We were in mourning after all, or didn't it get the memo.

The only thing Mother Nature had gotten right so far was the absence of any obnoxious wildlife chatter filtering into the house on this otherwise textbook worthy end of summer day. None of the chirping birds, gnawing squirrels, or other woodlands creatures you'd expect to be present living on the edge of a forest have ever really seemed to come too close to the house. I idly wondered if it had anything to do with five—four, oh god only four now, wolves living here. I was never going to get used to that fact.

The light rapping of knuckles on a solid wood surface resonating from my door four times dispelled the illusion that he had given up and would just leave me in peace. Peace—I wasn't in peace, I was partially numb and firmly entrenched in Camp Denial, but there was nothing peaceful about my life right now, so the least he could do was have the decency to leave me be.

"I know you heard me, Mel," he said in the same quietly dead, detached tones as before.

"Not right now—I can't… my stomach hurts," I refused wishing he'd go away now.

Something about my ruse must have paid off, either that or he wasn't up to trying harder, because I heard him sigh as he walked into Levi's room next door. My werewolf hearing made it all too easy to listen in as he talked to mom, "she won't get up."

"Fine. Keep trying to get Levi up while I go talk to her." She responded tiredly because apparently, Levi was still being just as uncooperative as I was about going today.

This was pretty much the first time I had left Levi's side since we got back to La Push. We'd gone immediately to Devlin when mom and Uncle Mark set him down, but it was only a few minutes later when they came back with Sam to take him away. We wanted to go with, it wasn't right for him to be all alone—he needed us, but they wouldn't let us. We haven't seen him since and that makes it easier to believe that he's just sick, but he's getting help so he'll be back soon.

We'd headed home with Uncle Jay and dad after that. Dad wasn't letting go of Jordan and I don't think he even noticed us with him. I hadn't even gotten to say anything to Tay beforehand and that had hurt. I had wanted to find him, I didn't really want to be away from him for even a moment, being separated felt like the pain associated with having a phantom limb, but he had gone inside to check on his sisters and Solace, who had been severely injured. I'd turned towards the house intending to look for Tay, to at least let him know what was going on and that I was leaving, but Levi had grabbed my hand affectively stopping me. It had only taken one glance at the pleading look on his face to know I needed him just as much as he blatantly needed me right then.

At first the house had smelled stale and muggy from being boarded up for almost a month in the middle of summer, but now the stench is even worse because it has the added musty odors of dried blood, sweat, and decaying forest on top of that. It's a lot like what I would imagine a military's medic field tent smelling like during World War I and the primary culprits are Levi and me since I didn't shower until today and he still hasn't, although dad might have made his own contribution at first too.

The only thing Levi and I had done upon reaching the house was to put on some clean clothes. After that, I'd joined Levi in his room, sliding into his bed with him and he'd hugged me tightly until we fell asleep. It was dark and I was extremely disoriented when I woke up, but I knew a great deal of time had passed because my muscles and joints were stiff from remaining in the same position for too long and my whole body ached from the aftermath of the fight.

Levi was already awake, just staring absently at the ceiling as silent tears slid from the corners of his eyes, leaking in a steady stream over his temples and disappearing into his black hair. I asked him if he was okay and he'd watched my hands, but did not respond. I knew then without finding it necessary to try again that he wasn't planning on communicating anytime soon either. I hugged him, but he didn't move to hug me back. I held him until he stopped crying anyways, but I didn't cry myself, the whole thing seemed too unreal just then, beyond my limited comprehension skills.

I had noticed a plate of cold food resting on his nightstand then, turkey sandwiches, plain whole wheat toast, a couple glasses of water and tried to get him to eat a piece of toast, but he refused. I took a bite myself, but it was like trying to eat a mouthful of dry, flavorless sawdust. Instead of trying something else, I'd simply lain down again and quickly fallen back to sleep.

More time past in a similar blurry haze, caught somewhere in limbo, between the realms of dreams and reality and neither seemed readily decipherable as any more than incoherent babble. At one point I might have woken up to Levi having a nightmare. I think I got hit a few times in the process of waking him up, but the second his eyes snapped open and saw me he broke down crying and I lost it then too when I had a sudden lucid moment of clarity. Up to that point nothing seemed real, it was like walking through a fog, but now it hit me, he was crying because Dev was dead. I didn't want to believe it though and I tried not to, that determination worked more often than not.

The next time I woke was around midday yesterday. Tay had been there, sitting beside the bed holding my hand. He'd asked how I was doing and told me I needed to eat something then mom, dad, Jordan, and Mark all came in before I got a chance to say anything and Levi had woken up. I could immediately tell he was upset with so many people in the room and I'd yelled at them to get out, not sparing them a single glance on their way out as I held onto my brother and tried to calm him down. It seemed I was the only person he wanted around right now. We cried a lot throughout the day and it took a little coaxing, but I got him to eat with me and the only time we were apart the rest of the day was to use the restroom.

Then this morning, mom had come in and said the funeral was this afternoon and we needed to get up and get ready. Levi had turned over so he couldn't see her as she tried to persuade us to even just get out of bed. I got up only because I wanted to stop hearing her say the word funeral; it was so much harder to pretend it wasn't real when she kept talking about it. I went into the kitchen and had breakfast with dad; he didn't acknowledge me once and I was too distracted to care.

Afterwards I had finally showered and washed the grime and dirty off that had built up over the last month. I was a little shocked when the water rinsed it off and revealed that my skin was actually a lighter shade of russet than the one I had grown used to seeing over the last couple days. The steam and pounding water of the lukewarm shower had helped relieve a lot of the remaining soreness and tension I had from the battle and it was nice to get clean, but I didn't enjoy the experience as much as I would have liked to and as soon as it was over I hid in my room where I hoped to skip today altogether.

Lost in thought, I missed mom's approach and was surprised when she suddenly walked into my room. She turned on my overhead lights as she entered so that they shone down on me like one of the interrogation lights used in police questioning. In the harsh yellow light I could see the exact depths of how the recent strain has affected her; it was clear in the vast grief and weariness etched onto every plane and line of her face. She was already dressed in a plain black dress similar to the one she had hung on the back of my closet door for me to wear today, but I had ignored it after my shower in favor of a white tank top and a pair of red cheerleader shorts.

"Please get ready," mom said calmly, if not a little robotically, from the doorway. "We need to leave in a couple hours and at this rate it'll take that long for you and Levi to get ready… we have to get there early, remember?"

"I don't feel good. I'm too sick to go." I claimed causing her to expel a little huff of frustration before leaving my room. She shut the door with a bang on her way out, but left the light on.

I listened as she made her way down the hallway and called Taylor, asking him to come over and talk to me. I knew she wanted him to talk me into going today, but I hoped he wouldn't. I wanted him here, wanted to see him, but I wasn't sure how to tell him about what I was thinking and feeling. I wasn't sure how to face any of that or if I even wanted to. So far the constant swirl of activity had been to keep me from really thinking about what all this meant and I was afraid to face what would come next.

It only took a few short minutes for him to get here, although it was never soon enough when we were apart and I basked in his refreshing smell as he approached. It was so much better than the current smell permeating the house that reminded me too much of the smell of death and destruction.

"Mel? Can I come in?" I heard Tay ask gently and a little unsurely as he knocked lightly on my door.

"Yea," I said immediately. I felt bad that he felt the need to sound so cautious when he spoke to me and it hurt that I had made him fear rejection with my behavior over the last couple days.

I didn't turn over, but I heard him as he quietly entered my room, shutting the room firmly behind him before making his way over to where I was buried under the covers on my bed. I felt him climb in behind me then wrap his arms around my waist, pulling me tightly to him. The summer air was oppressively hot, but this was the first time I could remember actually being warm since returning home.

My body fit perfectly against his hard length now that I was only a few inches shorter, our contours molding to form an air tight seal between our bodies. I felt safe, secure and alive for the first time in a long time as I felt him brush his lips across the back of my exposed neck in a tender kiss. I shivered at the touch, feeling my body react, my heart pounding faster as it always did in response to his nearness, even when I was numb to the rest of the world.

"How come you aren't getting ready?" He whispered into my ear, the action sending chills down my spine. I took a deep breath of his clean scent to slow my racing heart before trying to answer him. When he realized that I was struggling, one of his big warm hands began rubbing small, soothing circles on my stomach like he used to do when I was younger and got sick.

"I don't—uh, feel… well enough to go," I attempted to give the same excuse to him that I had my parents, but the words stuck in my throat and I had to force them out like trying to speak through a gag.

This was the first time I had tried to lie to Tay since I imprinted on him and it was a lot harder than I imagined it would be, nearly impossible in fact. I knew I hadn't sounded very convincing and that he also heard my heart knock faster against my ribcage in an attempt to give me away, so it was highly unlikely that he believed me, but he just kissed my neck again with his thick silky lips, making my breath catch in my throat. He gave me a tiny squeeze before trying again.

"Come on, Mel. You have to go." He entreated encouragingly with his lips poised at my ear, brushing over them with feather light caresses as his lips moved to form the words he was speaking. His coaxing voice swept across my suddenly scorching skin in a refreshingly cool breeze, but the actually words singed individual holes into my flesh like the burning tip of a cigarette.

"No I don't. I'm sick, Tay." I stubbornly refused, but the insincere words tumbled out with a hollow echo that seemed to ricochet off the walls in my tiny room mockingly.

"No you aren't, sweetie." He said understandingly as he sat up, pulling me up as well so that we were sitting facing each other. He leaned forward, resting his forehead against mine making his thickly lashed dark eyes the only thing I could see as I stared intently into them for a time. It was like he was looking into me, at my soul and it was stripped bare to reveal every thought I ever had. The same was true for me. I could see him and right now I knew he was immensely worried about me, hurt and grief-stricken himself. "Talk to me. Why don't you want to go?"

"Don't. Please, just… don't. I can't," I chocked out looking away. It was still way too painful to think about, let alone explain, but it hurt to deny his heartfelt request.

"Please, Mel?" He implored and hearing that was like taking a knife in the gut. Getting up, I went over to the window and pushed the curtains aside to look out, tracing idle circles on the glass for a moment while I tried to stay calm and gather my thoughts to be able to tell him what I was feeling without breaking down.

"I don't want to go—it's too hard." That was all the more I managed to get out before I felt the first spider cracks splinter the fragile hold I had on my composure. He came up behind me and wrapped me in his arms, nuzzling my neck for a second and I involuntarily leaned further back against him.

"Don't shut me out, please don't shut me out. Tell me what's wrong… what you need… what I can do to help." His own pain coming out clearly in every one of his quiet pleading words and I broke down hearing it, spinning around to face him. His hands came down to rest on my hips, his thumbs lightly trailing along the exposed skin of my stomach right above the edge of my shorts. The movement gave me tingles radiating out from the area, made my breathing shallow and both of our hearts beat faster. An emotional upheaval came crashing over me following directly behind the new surge of rushing blood throbbing in my ears and initiating a tempest in my mind.

"What's the point?! Going today isn't gonna him back! So why should I?!" I screamed at him, unable to look at his face and see how my words affected him while every shred of composure I possessed shattered beyond repair as I finally acknowledged what was happening today, really acknowledged it. His grip tightened, holding me in place, but otherwise he gave no reaction to my heated cry.

"I-I-I don't understand! I don't understand why this happened! It doesn't any make sense! And everything just seems so pointless… Why?! Why, Tay? Why did he have to die?" The words came forth, flooding the air with a destructive force like a dam failing. I hadn't been aware I felt that way until I said those words and the verbal discharge continued before he had a chance to answer my questions. Only now I was also punctuating every few words with a helpless, frustrated and angry punch on his chest. "I don—I don't understand why! I just don't understand… any of this! It's so stupid! Death is so stupid—so pointless! Everything just seems so stupid and pointless now…"

"I-i-it's, it's gonna be alright." He said around the tears he was now crying when my verbal assault trailed off even though I continued to pound my fists weakly against his chest and he didn't try to stop me. His words just stirred my emotions up again and I went back to raging at him.

"You don't know that! You have no way of knowing that for sure so don't say that. You can't promise that nothing else is going to happen—so don't! God, I'm so angry! But I don't know who to be angry at so it's just… building up. It's so unfair. This whole thing is so unfair… and it hurts so much, so, so much. I didn't know I could hurt this much, Tay. I just want it to stop. Ugh! These emotions are all so intense… I feel like I'm going crazy."

I was sobbing uncontrollably against his chest now, leaving a sizable wet mark on the material of his dress shirt while he held me close and stroked my hair soothingly, trying futilely to consol me, but still more spilled unheeded out of me. "I don't know how to handle them… this… everything… hell, anything anymore! And what happens now? What do we do now? Am I supposed to know? Know what to do—how to go on?"

"No. No, of course not, sweetie. No one ever really knows. I think maybe that comes with time… that you figure it out as you go… that it gets easier." Tay said honestly after letting me cry for a while.

"Will it really?" I asked with a hint of hope. I wanted him to tell me it would and right now I'd believe him if he did.

"I don't know. But I'll be here… to help. We'll do it together, just, you can't—ahhh, please don't push me away anymore. You have to let me in so I can help and be here for you." He said instead and it was like any strength I had left to fight with was zapped, sucked from my body, and I slumped against him in exhausted defeat.

"This wasn't supposed to happen. I-I don't think…," I trailed off plaintively, not knowing how to finish the thought, not wanting to even think it, but unable to stop myself.

Of everyone that left to fight, Levi, Dev, and I were arguably pretty evenly tied when it came to who the most likely to get killed was. Levi had the disadvantage of being deaf so this was all a lot harder for him, plus he'd been overly concerned with Dev and me the whole time instead of paying as much attention as he should have been when we were training. Dev's size had handicapped him since he didn't grow nearly as much as everyone else did after phasing and I had been way too wrapped up in Taylor to concentrate on anything other than him while we were training. So why did he die when we didn't?

"Of course it was not supposed to happen. None of us saw it coming, Mel," Tay said regretfully kissing the top of my head. He reached up and gently brushed a loose piece of my hair out of my face from where my tears had plastered it to my cheek, but it was too short to tuck behind my ear so it just fell forward again making him grin adorably at me when I looked up at him, even if the smile didn't reach his eyes.

"I don't want to believe it really happened. If I don't go… maybe I won't have to. Like maybe there's a chance I could still wake up and find out this was all just a nightmare and it'll never be real. Ugh, I can't even tell what _is_ real anymore. I don't even know if I am. Nothing makes sense." I told him, shaking my head dispiritedly against him, trying to clear the impending fog that was creeping up on me, preparing to descend on me once more.

"Death never makes sense, but you need to accept that this is real and that Devlin is dead. Ignoring it won't make it go away and I can't change this for you no matter how much I'd like to. This is why you need to go to the funeral, Melody, so you can come to terms with this and start moving on," he said dolefully and held me tighter; I clung to his waist when his words made me start crying again. I couldn't help it; I didn't want to move on, I just wanted my brother back.

"Your parents are going, they need you there. And Levi—he needs you so much right now. This is hard for them too…," he continued then added in a quiet, almost broken whisper, "and I need you there. I can't do this without you."

Hearing those words triggered something primal in the pit of my stomach. I threw myself against his chest, the force of the unexpected impact knocking him back, flat against the wall as I pressed into him and his hands instinctually pulled me even closer. Then I was kissing him, hard, like it was the last chance I would ever have and he responded with equal fervor.

Tangling my hands in his soft hair on the sides of his face, I tugged, trying to force our faces tighter together. His strong, sinewy arms imprisoned me to him and one of his hands braced the back of my neck, preventing my head from pulling away, while the other supported the small of my back to keep me arched against him as I stood on the tips of my toes so that we were almost the same height. Our chests were pressed together and I could feel that both of our hearts were speeding along at the same pace.

The passion and desperation created such an intense heat that it threatened to burn my insides until nothing remained except the orange glow of dying embers. Feeling his soft plump lips glide over mine was like nothing I had ever felt before and my thoughts, which had previously been trying to fly out the window, were now completely centered on Tay and the sensations he was making me feel. I had been on the verge of numbness, poised on the edge of despair about to topple into an endless black hole destined to feel nothing ever again, but now I felt everything and so much more. Every fiber of my being had come to life and was explosively erupting within me, the force greater than I ever could have prepared myself for.

The taste of him as I sucked his bottom lip into my mouth and nibbled lightly was sweeter and more heavenly than the ambrosia drunk on Mount Olympus by the gods. The touch of his hands now roaming along the length of my back, holding me tighter than he ever had, finally showing me that he craved me as much as I did him was more exhilarating than the purest shot of adrenaline could ever hope to be.

"Mmm," he groaned and in this position, with our hips pressed firmly together I could feel his growing hard-on. This was something new. He'd never responded to me this way and it generated an almost unbearable level of desire within me. I wanted to explore his body fully, to feel more of it, of him, but his arms were unyielding and they prevented my hands from moving below his shoulders. Then he did something that sufficiently distracted me, making me forget all about my quest.

I had been positive nothing could ever be better than it was, but then he parted his lips and I felt his tongue dart out, allowing its tip to trace the seam between mine. I gasped in surprise at the unexpected action from him and he used the opportunity to slip his tongue further into my mouth and lightly run it along mine.

"Ummm," I moaned this time as another spike of desire shot through me, but the sound was muffled by his mouth. I was completely consumed by his very essence. It felt like my bones had vanished and electric currents had flared up in their place keeping me in a constant state of ultrasensitive awareness as every nerve in my system was shocked repeatedly.

Just when the intensity threatened to rage out of control and my senses began to shut down from the overload, I felt his head pull back. Unwilling to break our connection just yet, I followed his lips with my own, but he turned his head slightly and I was forced to release his lips. I was breathless and dizzy and he was the only thing holding me up, but I was eager for more and disappointed that he had stopped so soon when I was confident he had been enjoying himself too, if his body's reaction was anything to go by.

I started to pull away, but his hand slid down my back to grip my ass firmly and keep my hips locked against him, his eyes seeking mine. I understood when my eyes met his that he only stopped because he wanted to see me for a moment; that he needed to right then and knowing he needed it, I needed it too.

And there it was—the look. Beneath all the sadness, empathy, and concern I saw his love for me. Not the love I'd always seen in his eyes, but the passionate, animalistic kind of love that made me want to rip his clothes off and let me know he very much wanted to do the same to mine.

I'd wanted to see that look for many years now, a look that was thirteen years in the making. And that kiss… well, it was everything I ever dreamed of and so, so much more, but I'd gladly wait another thirteen years for another if it meant Devlin was still alive. That wouldn't happen though, nothing could bring him back. He was dead, gone, end of discussion, and that was final.

When we'd been kissing, I hadn't thought about any of that, hadn't even remembered. It had just been Tay and me. The rest of the world had ceased to exist, ceased to matter. All I had cared about was him and what he did to me and the knowledge that I affected him the same way. I didn't want to remember the rest, that was painful and right now all I wanted was the ecstasy he had the power to inspire within me.

"Again," I demanded, longing to forget once more.

Passion blazed in his eyes as he used one hand to yank my head back to him, meeting my lips urgently, just as eager to repeat the experience as I was. It was even better than the first time. I ran my hands up and down along the hard planes of his chest, earning an enticing moan from him when I lightly dragged my nails across his nipples through the thin material of his black collared shirt. He never wore shirts and I hated that he was right now. It was in the way. I wanted to remove it, but I had a feeling he would stop me if I tried and I wasn't ready to end this anytime soon. Needing to be closer, I slid my hands up behind his head and into his hair, pushing my chest closely against his.

He began kneading the flesh of my backside, which he still cupped with one hand and the other worked its way down my back to join it. The action generated a powerful need, stronger than any I'd ever known and pushed my hips harder against the rigid length of him. His hands gripped me harder when I did that and he lifted me as he stepped away from the wall. I eagerly wrapped my legs around his waist while he flipped our positions so that it was my back smashed against the wall with his body pressing me against it. I liked this new development. I could feel him throbbing against me and I loved the feel of his large hands now tightly gripping my upper thighs, until I realized that he did it to keep me still.

"Ugh, Tay," I groaned in frustration against his mouth trying to thrust my pelvis harder against him, but he was stronger and stopped me.

"Now isn't the time for that, love," he ground out breathlessly, panting slightly, but not removing his lips to take a proper breath.

The loud crash startled us, bringing us crashing back to reality as we sprung apart. I was using the wall for support as I glanced up at Tay and saw he looked just as concerned over what the source of our interruption could have been. Quickly rushing out the door with him a step behind, we turned the corner and stopped in the doorway of my brother's room.

I clenched my hand into a fist around the door frame to hold me up as I took in the site before us. The racket had been caused when Levi knocked over his bookcase. There were books, trophies, broken picture frames, and other memorabilia that had once been stored on its shelves were now scattered everywhere, littering the floor among the wreckage of splintered wood.

Mom was tiredly rubbing her face; her quivering shoulders slumped in defeat. Meanwhile, Levi was gently smoothing out the wrinkles in the nice black shirt he was holding before he walked over to his closet and carefully hung it back up then mechanically walked back over to his bed and slid in, turning his back to us.

It took a moment, but then I recognized the shirt. It was Levi's, but Dev had been the last to wear it since he could still fit into our old clothes fairly easily. I remember it from when I hugged him goodbye before my trip to Seattle with the Wahallas for Amber's graduation, just a few weeks before Annabelle was kidnapped.

I looked around and found dad standing impassively in the corner watching the scene unfold without really seeing any of it. His unaffected appearance hit me hard and I realized for the first time since getting home that he was broken, irreparably damaged by what happened. It was like my father had died too and if that was the case then Dev's sacrifice was for nothing and I hated that thought, even more than I hated the thought of him being dead. I wanted my funny, loving, laid back father again, not this unfeeling statue.

All at once it was too much, too much to see, too much to process, too much to handle or deal with. I felt my legs give out, but before I collapsed to the floor, Tay caught me up in his arms. I buried my face in the soft exposed skin, just above his shirt's collar at the base of his neck as I cried, not wanting to see anymore of what has become of my family.

"I've got her. You've already got your hands full, so don't worry about her." Tay told my parents or at least my mom and pulled me closer to his rumbling chest before dragging me back into my room. I looked up when he kicked the door shut behind us and found he was looking down at me as well, but he looked worried and a little indecisive.

"Please," I whisper, not sure what I was asking for, but he seemed to know anyways because a second later we were kissing again.

The fresh tears on my face evaporated quickly from their proximity to our combined body heats. He continued walking as we kissed and didn't break the contact between our lips as he laid me on my bed. Desperate for closer contact, I jerked on his shirt roughly, I think I even ripped it slightly as I managed to unbalance him so that he landed on top of me. He didn't try to get up, only moved until his body covered mine and his hips were cradled between my parted legs, his full weight resting on top of me and his hands gently running up and down my sides.

"Uhhh," I moaned at the sensation, it felt amazing and I felt him get hard again at the sound.

I dug my fingernails into his back, trying to pull his closer still and rubbed myself against him, but he squeezed my hips to hold them still and keep them pressed flat against the bed. I groaned in frustration then, although I was relieved that he continued to plunder my mouth hungrily with his tongue. His delicious taste was intoxicating. A short time later, too short, he pulled back to look down at me.

"Did it help? Does it make you feel any better?" He asked lovingly and I could tell it was helping him cope just as much as it was me when I nodded that it did. "I wish I could… help more… do something—anything else. Something to make it… easier, but it will get better. I promise it will."

He sounded so heartbroken when he carefully uttered that and I hated that my pain was hurting him worse than he was already hurting. I leaned up and kissed his lips gently this time. It was very different than the urgent, heated kisses from before and whispered into his mouth, "this helps, so much."

He slid his dewy soft lips along my left cheek then and tenderly kissed my closed eyelid before moving to kiss the other as well. Then he trailed tiny, light kisses along my cheek to my right ear, stopping to whisper, "I love you, Melody Crystal Varn," before continuing down my neck, pausing when he reached my pulse to gently suck on the delicate skin, making me gasp and unconsciously arch against him. His lips returned to mine then for a final slow languid kiss that I never wanted to end, but eventually it did anyways and he pulled back to look at me again.

"I'm scared. What happens if I forget him? What if my memories of him fade or get lost somehow?" I asked Taylor fearfully.

"You won't. He'll always be a part of you. And I'll be here to help you remember if you ever need me to." He promised reassuringly to me. Adding reluctantly, "you don't have to go if it's going to be too hard for you today. I can stay here with you instead if that's what you want."

"I, I want to be there for them. My family. You. But promise you'll be with me… promise not to let go of me all day, for any reason? Please, I need you with me."

"Promise. I'm glad you changed your mind. You need to get dressed now though. We need to get going pretty soon, we're probably running late as it is and maybe you'll have better luck than your parents are having with Levi." He said, but hesitated before getting up. I took advantage of it by giving him a quick sweet kiss. He smiled and gave me two additional kisses before getting up.

"Don't leave!" I yelled panicking, even jumping up to race after him when he made for the door. I knew he was just giving me privacy to change, but I didn't want him out of arm's reach for a single moment today, it hurt too much to even think about.

"Okay. Don't worry, I am not going anywhere," he promised with a brief hug before turning around so that his back was to me while I changed.

The gesture made me smile and I was a little surprised to find I still could as I pulled on my borrowed dress. I slipped on a pair of black flip flops to go with it, figuring no one would care, least of all Devlin and didn't bother with my hair or face since they would just get messed up soon enough. I saw that Tay's hair was adorably rumpled as well and it gave me a rather large measure of satisfaction to know I was responsible.

"I love you." I told him once I was ready to face the rest of the day. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and gently kissed my temple as he led me out of the room.

~*~ ∞ ~*~


	5. For the Rest of Forever, Part I

**A/N: Any wolves you recognize from The Twilight Saga belong to Stephanie Meyer.**

**Basically everything else, including past and present wolf pack members, imprints, wolf families, and additional characters in this story belong to the universe created by the amazing, brilliant, and wonderfully talented yay4shanghai!**** She even has dibs on the plot… I just wrote it :)**

**Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed, it means the world to me! I'm behind responding to reviews and it's been a while since I updated this, so I wanted to apologize, things have been a little hectic for me lately. Also, there are two more chapters for this story. I'll post the next in a week and the last the following week.**

**As always I recommend you read the other spinoffs by liljenrocks, ari11990, AsagariMelody, Guzhong, twihardcaligurl, intiMACYx33, and TwilightHeart21. They are fantastic and worth taking the time to read. **

**Also, three new spin-offs (can you tell it's been a while since I last updated): **

**I'm working on an Annabelle Wahalla, Taylor's sister, and Brady Rivers. The story is called The Wonderful World of Cupcake and Her Wolf with yay4shanghai and ari11990, we're each writing two chapters and the first two are already up. It's posted on yay4shanghai's profile, but it's also in my favorites. It's really cute so check it out!**

**Ari11990 started her sequel to Never Trust a Werewolf, it's called Letting Go, Giving In, Losing Breath and follows Amber's life in Europe... I'm already hooked and I promise you will be too!**

**And finally, TwilightHeart21 has started a story for Freddie Call, Embry's son, and his imprint Maribel. It's called The Frayed Edges of a Rising Sun and it's already amazing so I hope you'll read that as well.**

**Thank you yay4shanghai, for being the amazing beta that you are and managing to find time, when you're already swamped, to sift through the mess of the three chapters I sent you, all at once of course :), and fix it up for me. You're the greatest beta ever!**

**For the Rest of Forever, No Matter What Part I**

* * *

December 2038

"You are so beautiful, Melody," Tay breathed against my neck as he trailed warm open-mouthed kisses down its length. His words were accompanied by a gust of air that blew across my damp skin, moistened by his mouth and the light sheen of sweat that covered my body, brought on by our current activity. The airy caress caused me to shutter beneath him.

My grip on his rippling shoulders remained relentless from my climax a few moments ago, keeping his perfectly sculpted torso resting fully on top of me, cradled between my thighs. The television sat long forgotten, it blared in the background like an instrumental theme song, but sounded no louder than the fluttering of a hummingbird's wings; drowned out by our gasping and moaning and thundering hearts.

"What time do you have to be home again?" He asked as he continued his ministrations, his lips pausing every few centimeters to lightly suck on the thin layer of delicate skin. Each time he induced a flare of desire, which spiked through my center, making my stomach flip and leaving me gasping for air. My eyes squeezed closed as I arched my neck further to the side, giving him better access as he reached my throbbing pulse.

Lingering, he playfully nipped at the sensitive skin there, making my hips buck upwards against his hand, which was currently nestled under my skimpy shorts, still gently stroking my sex from before. The touch of his lips began coiling the spring in my core a second time, shortly after reaching the previous peak. It was amazing the affect he had on my body, the reactions he could so effortlessly ignite.

"Uh-ahh!" The broken moan escaped me when a particularly powerful surge of need overcame me, the smell of my amplified arousal wafting up to surround our intimate embrace.

I'm sure Taylor felt the new surge of wetness between my legs, because with a growl, he bit me a little harder, making my blood roar in my ears, then soothed the tender bite with the flat of his tongue as he increased the speed and pressure of his skilled fingers. The lazy soothing motions became precise and practiced as he rubbed my clit. I was putty in his capable hands, my whole being crying out to be manipulated and shaped beneath them.

Stars burst behind my eyelids, shooting outward, streaking across the darkness as the tension released, but immediately began to build again when he slid first one then two fingers into my wetness, pumping as his thumb continued tracing stimulating circles around my sensitive nub. My legs bent, bringing my knees up on either side of Tay's hips with my feet digging in between the couch cushions to brace myself, allowing me to angle my own hips up and meet his thrusting fingers.

My mind was gibberish, liquefied, rendered so by the continuous state of heightened bliss Tay had worked me into. I clutched him tighter to me, using his solid body to contain my own, to prevent it from flying apart in a million pieces. My insides quivered, every muscle contracting before I came undone, clenching around his fingers and screaming, "Tay!"

"Uhwhahh," I moaned incoherently, still breathless a few seconds later remembering his question from before. His left hand inched up my body, emerging from its former position beneath my tiny orange running shorts while his right hand continued kneading my butt. Sliding up my boneless body, he kissed me tenderly.

"When do you need to leave?" he asked again with a soft giggle making his naked chest vibrate exquisitely against my hardened nipples. I still had my ribbed tank top on, one I'd stolen from him, but I'd removed my bra earlier when the movie we were watching became less interesting than kissing, which eventually progressed into the even more entertaining acts of fooling around.

His hand continued its northern journey, sliding under the edge of my shirt and moving across my stomach with his soft palm pressed flat and his fingers sprawled, covering as much of my skin as possible. It tickled slightly, making my hips buck up against him and he pressed back, letting me feel his erection. I rubbed harder against him, easily feeling the throbbing of his shaft through the thin linen of the Thai meditation pants he was wearing.

"Not for a few more hours yet," I finally managed to gasp out just as his hand enclosed my breast and squeezed gently before releasing it to catch the tip of my hardened nipple in the center of his palm. He made tiny circular motions with his hand causing it to pebble even tighter and bent his head to trace my collar bone with his satiny lips.

"Excellent. We don't have to stop yet," he panted nuzzling his head against the nap of my neck and pressing a feather light kiss in the hollow of my throat as he tweaked my budded nipple.

I used his position to lightly trace the shell of his ear with my tongue causing him to shiver and goose bumps to break out on his back. Threading my fingers through his hair, I held his head in place while capturing his earlobe with my teeth and gently tugging.

"Ahh," he moaned bucking harder against me like a bronco at a rodeo, his breath coming in harder, faster puffs now. I snagged his wrist, stopping him when he made to snake his hand back down my shorts.

"No, it's your turn," I explained with a cheeky grin. I used him for leverage to flip our positions, so that he was on bottom and I was now straddling his upper thighs. Reaching down, I untied the drawstring on his tented pants, but Tay caught my wrists and tugged, making me lose my balance and fall against his chest with an, "oomph!"

"You don't—" He started, but I quickly cut him off with a passionate kiss, exploring the cavern of his mouth greedily with my tongue and sliding up his body to grind against him until he became even harder.

"Ahh," he moaned, rocking his hips to meet mine. Our hands were trapped between our bodies, mine still imprisoned by his. The second I felt his grip slack, I pulled my hands free and captured his instead when they tried to give chase, dragging his above our joined heads, never breaking the frenzied kiss.

I couldn't get enough of him. I wanted to be with him, intimately connected to him every moment of the day, to see him happy and know I was the source of his happiness just as he was mine. He was extraordinary. There was nothing I didn't love about him. He made me feel like I was the most beautiful, precious person in the world and I strove to make him feel the same.

Breaking the kiss, I leaned back to stare into his heated and loving eyes, saying, "I love you. Please let me."

"If you insist," he joked then immediately leaned forward, ensnaring my lips in another intensely searing kiss. I shifted my grip, so my left hand chained both of his, just in case he was tempted to try and make this only about me again. Then slid my newly freed right hand, slightly dragging my nails, along the sinewy muscles in his arm, across his firm pectoral, over his rib cage, down the ridges of his solid abs and finally under the waist of his pants. I eased to the side of him as my hand progressed, moving down as well, kissing and tasting his skin as I went. Eagerly, I wrapped my hand around him, running my thumb up the underside then tracing the tip as I guided him out.

He thrust up, forcing my hand to stoke him when I'd paused to simply enjoy the feel of him and the power I felt when I inspired this state of need in him. He was as hard and hot as a steel rod fresh from a blacksmith's fire and quivering like the air surrounding it. His breathing increased and his heart pounded loudly as I began a steady rhythm keeping my grip firm. Moving to kiss him again, I sucked his tongue into my mouth, running mine along it in time with my hand. I gave him an extra tug, adding a little twist when I reached his head, making his breath catch.

"Breathe Tay," I reminded him impishly, snagging his fat lower lip between my teeth so that he moaned, squirming beneath me. I increased the speed and pressure of my strokes and like a conductor, the movement of my hand produced the most beautiful music I had ever heard coming to me in the sounds of his pleasure.

I felt his fingers intertwine with my free has, holding it securely, squeezing each time I tugged while his other hand came down to massage my breast through the thin material of my shirt, rolling and pinching my beaded nipple between two fingers in a rhythm harmonious with the one I used on him, our gasps and moans coming faster and louder until he exploded, squirting hot streams onto my hand and his stomach.

I pulled back just in time to see his face as he released. I knew exactly what he liked, exactly how to make him cry out in bliss. It was amazing to see him like this, to see the ecstasy on his face and the way his dark lashes fluttered shut to fan against his cheeks. We had done this enough times in the last two plus years that I practically had the look memorized by now, but every time I saw his reaction to my touch, it sent me over the edge as well and made me fall in love with him just a little bit more.

Pulling off my shirt, I wiped his stomach off and saw his eyes locked on my chest while I did so. Seeing me watching him, he grinned broadly and pulled me to him for a tender, leisurely kiss, absently stroking the small of my back.

"Can I ask you something?" He questioned casually a few minutes later.

"Anything," I promised. Curious, I propped myself up on his chest so I could see his face. He smiled adorably, but perhaps a little distractedly. He looked like he was contemplating something serious and it was at least a minute before he spoke again.

"I know it's a little soon to be thinking about, but have you thought about what you want after college?"

"You." I answered simply and truthfully with a little sigh of happiness at the thought. There was nothing else in the world I wanted besides him.

"I want you too," he said with an amused chuckle then added, "but I meant, do you know if you'll want to stay here in La Push or not?" He watched me carefully, waiting for me to answer. It felt like whatever I said would be significant, but I wasn't sure why.

"I just want to be wherever you are, Tay, and you're here."

"I'd move. If that's what you wanted, I'd move," he vowed adamantly.

"I don't think I'd want to, unless that's what you wanted… is it? I mean you already have a great job here and—"

"I could easily transfer, so don't base your decision on that." He was right about transferring, but I knew he enjoyed working here, so I didn't want him to have to leave just for me.

"Alright, but both of our families are here too, well Amber is in Seattle, but that's close and we could always start visiting Ethan… besides, it would kill Kim and Jared if you moved and I couldn't do that to them," I pointed out logically.

"They'd survive, so again, don't worry about them. I want to know what you want," he insisted, waving away my concerns even though I know he wouldn't ever want to do that to his parents either, especially now that Annie had moved out and he worried so much about them being lonely.

"I'd prefer to stay here, La Push is home… but what's going on? Why all the questions?" I asked a little worried, though what I'd said had made him smile brilliantly, flashing his perfect pearly whites. This was an unusual conversation and like he said, that was years away, so I had to wonder why he was being so persistent and secretive now.

"Just curious," he replied evasively, not quite meeting my eyes and barely pausing before changing the subject. "You know, I wasn't done with you before when you took over… I think we should use the next hour wisely before we have to meet the others for dinner…"

~x~*~x~

February 2039

It was a little before four on a Friday. Taylor was supposed to be working tonight, so I'd walked to Jesse's house with her after school and stopped in to say hi to Emily and hang out for a bit before heading home to see if Levi was back yet. I was already hungry so I planned to persuade Levi to start dinner if he was.

Tay had been picking up a lot of extra shifts lately, but he tried to do it when I had patrol or was already at school so that it didn't cut into our time together, but sometimes it couldn't be helped. He wouldn't explain why he had the sudden desire to work so much more, only that he needed to.

I was only home for about five minutes before I decided to call Tay and see what time he was getting off. If he was going to be working really late then I wanted to surprise him by bringing dinner by the station, but if he wasn't going to be there too much longer, I'd just save him some for when he picked me up. However, before I had a chance to call, he showed up, his excitement visibly swelling up.

With no straight answers forthcoming, only his insistence that it was a surprise, I let him pull me outside and blindfold me. His enthusiasm was catching and my nerves were abuzz with anticipation for whatever it was he had in store for me tonight when pulled me up on his back with instructions to hold on tight. After a hastily shouted goodbye back at my mom, who had followed us outside, I wrapped my legs securely around his lean waist and gripped his neck, leaning in to whisper how much I loved him and kiss every part of his neck, chin, and cheek I could reach as he chuckled, carrying me off to some unknown destination, easily maneuvering through the woods to get there.

"We're here," he exclaimed happily, coming to an abrupt stop only a minute or two later. A deep breath as I slid off Tay's back allowed me to detect not only his fresh aroma, but a salty wind coming off the nearby ocean, the sea spray's scent stronger here than at my own house.

"Where is here, exactly?" I asked laughing a little because all I could see was an immense black void with my eyes covered the way they were.

"Hold on a sec," he said giggling then set to work on carefully untying the blindfold, trying not to pull my hair in the process. "So, what do you think?" He asked elatedly, nearly jumping up and down as he eagerly awaited my response once it was off.

I didn't get it. We were standing in front of a small, nice looking house that I'm sure I've seen around here before, but otherwise held no noteworthy significance. The place looked recently remodeled, with a fresh coat of dark sage green paint offset with brilliant white trim. Lingering traces of the final layer's fumes still drifted off the railing of the beautiful veranda extending across the entire front of the house. There was a wooden porch swing, which had been hung to the side of the door, and a neatly manicured front lawn with large, flat grey stones creating a pathway, visible since the last of the winter snows had melted a few weeks prior to this.

"I'm not really sure I understand," I slowly admitted looking at him puzzled.

"Welcome home," he said hopefully with a bright smile that made my stomach do somersaults. Glancing at the house then quickly back at me, he watched me nervously with his mesmerizing mahogany-flecked orbs.

"Wait, what?" I asked wrinkling my brow, completely baffled about what he could mean by that. He pulled a set of keys out of his pocket and when he jingled them in front of me, I understood. "This—you… here—yours?" I asked, jumbling up and leaving out words like a jigsaw puzzle with missing pieces, but he got my meaning anyways and nodded in conformation.

"I bought it, for us… for someday. My dad and I spent the last couple months fixing it up whenever we had any free time, you know, during all those extra shifts I was doing at work. Amber drew up the plans and ordered the stuff while working on Solace's place, but dad and I did it," he explained proudly on our way to the front door, finishing just as he unlocked it to let me in.

"Wow," I gasped the second the door swung in to reveal the living room and kitchen beyond that. The place was exactly what I imagined a home for Taylor and me to look like, simplistic, but still very much us. Walking in I thought it smelled like a fresh wind after a summer's stormy night, carrying faint, yet fragrant hints of the ocean, forest and flowers. It felt familiar and welcoming at once as if I were stepping into Tay's warm embrace instead of his house.

There were three large windows in the front room to let in an abundance of natural light, one on the front wall beside the door and the other two were located on either side of the fire place like great eyes looking towards the emerald green forest leading back to my house. They were framed with long curtains primarily the same deep brown as the dark cherry wood furniture, but with a simple tan and green design that tied in the hard wood floors, chairs and throw rug centered in the room, respectively. The walls were painted the same shade of taupe as the couch.

Turning in a circle, I took in more of the room, noticing three abstract paintings in an intricate swirling pattern of blue, green, and black color almost like shadows of a bird hung above the fire place in a horizontal row and below them, several framed photos of the two of us and our families were arranged along the mantle. In one corner there was a bookcase stretching from floor to ceiling with shelves overstuffed with books on Buddhism and the like while others were filled with mementos and more pictures of the two of us.

A television stand and flat screen TV were set up in the other corner, visible from the sofa and green leather chairs in the middle of the room. Centered between them was an hourglass shaped coffee table topped with a turquoise blue blown glass votive candle holder and lime green scalloped vase, which was currently filled with an array of blossoms in various reds, yellows, and oranges.

Looking around all I could manage to say was, "Tay, this is amazing. I can't believe you did all this!" He beamed at my praise, his thick, pouty lips parting and curling up to reveal his blindingly white teeth as he glided towards me, his movements as fluid and graceful as the water in a flowing river.

The hard work and care he'd put into fixing the place was readily apparent in every detail from the artfully arranged furniture and embellishments to the precise layout of the wooden planks in the flooring. I was so proud of him that I couldn't begin to imagine how I'd ever gotten so lucky to have the privilege of being with him for the rest of forever.

"I love you. I wanted to have a home for us." He said in such a heartfelt way I had to blink back tears. "It's a little small, but we can add on later, you know, if we ever have kids," he rambled nervously, his voice getting smaller when I continued to stare at him.

"It's perfect." I assured him with a loving smile and tender kiss that I hope relayed the depth of emotion I felt for him. Pulling back I leaned my forehead against his and sighed contently. "You want to have babies with me," I couldn't resist teasing when I thought about what he'd said, excited by the thought even if it was a long ways off.

"Well, if it's what you want. We don't have to, but I love babies and having one with you…" he trailed off with a happy sigh and a longing look.

"You're going to be a great father. I can't wait to make babies and raise kids with you," I said sincerely with giant grin as I threw my arms around him and kissed him for all I was worth, almost forgetting to breath when he returned the kiss just as eagerly.

Only when the need for oxygen became an issue did our lips disconnect and he tilted his head back just far enough to look me in the eye. "Someday," he promised lovingly, dipping back in for another heated kiss.

"Someday," I agreed against his lips. I could smell food, primarily a mixture of salmon and herbs and my empty stomach prompted me to wander into the kitchen where the appetizing aromas were originating from. The hardwood flooring continued into the kitchen and the room had white cabinets and wooden counters with tiling on the walls in between in various shades of greenish-brown like the inside of a seashell. There was a floating island with a hanging rack above it that dangled various types of pots and pans; some I had no idea how to use.

It was beautiful, which made it sort of a shame that the spacious, cozy kitchen wouldn't get as much use as it deserved. Tay could cook… a lot better than me, anyways, and I always thought whatever he made tasted fabulous, but he didn't really like to so it wasn't often that he did.

The room opened into a little breakfast nook that had glass sliding doors leading out to a patio and on the wall across from the doors there was a decorative mirror in the shape of a golden sun, a present from me when I was younger since he told me I reminded him of sunshine. I hadn't wanted him to forget me when he was at home.

A feast had been prepared. Grilled lemon pepper salmon, roasted vegetables, a spinach and fresh greens salad among the assortment, all set out on an oak table with wrought iron legs, which was surrounded by a matching chair set that also had wrought iron backs featuring a heart shape in the middle. A single white tapered candle was lit in the middle, its flame flickering in a hypnotic dance giving the setting a romantic flare.

"I kind of had a whole night planned for us. How bout we eat then I'll show you the rest of the place," Tay whispered in my ear making my heart speed up and sending bolts of lightning zooming to core, electrifying the familiar desirous need when he came up behind me.

"Sounds good, this looks great," I said as casually as I could manage while inside my mind was racing. I was a little thrown when I heard he had a whole night planned. This was already a little overwhelming, in the best way of course, but still, I couldn't imagine more unless it was what I thought he meant… sex. If that's what he meant then I was more than up for it.

Ignoring the implications of his words for now, I sat down to enjoy the peaceful atmosphere and delicious dinner with the most amazing guy in the whole world, basking in his presence. The food tasted even better than it looked and after a little prodding, Tay admitted Jared, his dad, had helped him make it, actually finishing everything and setting it all up for us while Taylor came to get me.

For the rest of the meal we talked about whatever came to mind, but mainly Tay told me all about working on the house, sharing a few funny anecdotes that emphasized why he hadn't gone into construction like his father and revealing how great it'd been to spend quality time with his dad like that.

It wasn't until we were finishing that Taylor started rambling, some random small talk about cooking methods, which wasn't like him and pushing his food around without really eating any. For as long as I'd known him, he'd disliked idle chatting and only did it when he was really nervous about something. I could tell something was up and my suspicions were further supported by the fact that he was avoiding looking me in the eyes or at all really.

"Tay, what's wrong?" I finally interrupted worriedly. He sighed and put his fork down, the clinging of the utensil against the hand-painted Indonesian plate was deafening in the silent room as he ran a hand through his hair before he spoke.

"I need to tell you about something," he confessed gravely and I knew it was something weighing heavily on him, something he wished he didn't have to tell me.

"What is it? Nothing's happened has it? Is everyone okay?" I rapidly rattled off the questions, not pausing to let him respond before firing the next one at him.

"No, no, it's nothing like that," he promised quickly. "Let's go in the other room to talk about it," he suggested standing up and reaching for my hand, which I instinctively gave him without a moment's hesitation.

"You know I love you more than anyone else in the world, right?" He asked staring at me intently and when I nodded he continued saying, "that you're the most important person in my life and I'd never intentionally do anything to hurt you," he paused again waiting for me to acknowledge that before finishing, "but it's important that I tell you this so you know everything before we move forward."

"Just tell me, Tay. Nothing could ever make me love you less, I swear." He was really starting to scare me, my stomach clenching painfully. I couldn't imagine what he wanted to tell me that required reminding me of those things, because I've always known and I saw the truth in them every day.

"I don't really know how to say this, but, uh, well I—I slept with Mark," he blurted out then stared fixedly at me waiting for me to respond to his revelation. I would have thought he was joking if he wasn't staring at me so seriously. It probably took about two minutes before I registered a single thought in my head. I wasn't really sure what to say to that, but he was becoming more visibly upset the longer I sat here staring unblinkingly at him like a marble statue.

Not wanting him to be distressed, I blurted, "my uncle?" Not the question I meant to ask since it was pretty much self explanatory, but now that I had and the foggy stupor muddling my mind had cleared, it seemed reasonable to check that I'd heard him correctly.

I watched the tip of his pink tongue dart out to moisten his lips before he answered, unwillingly enthralled by the sight.

"Yes," he confirmed a little unsurely. I was really confused and it didn't help that he didn't offer up anything more. He looked too upset and scared of my reaction to explain right now. I'd never seen him hesitant and unsure like this before and it threw me, possible more than what he'd told. Normally he jumped right in when an uncomfortable conversation needed to take place, ready to hash it out and get everything out in the open rather than backing down and letting things fester.

I could see how hard this was for him to tell me, so I tried to think about it so I could figure out what to ask that would help make sense of what he was saying. My thoughts were pretty jumbled though. I knew I was jealous as hell, but that wasn't very helpful, so I went with the next major thought that registered.

"When?" I hadn't thought there was anyone before me since he'd imprinted on me just days after his fourteenth birthday and as far as I knew Mark and Jordan had been together since I was a few months old.

I needed to know, because I knew what imprinting felt like and I prayed this happened before and not after I had become his whole world. The second I imprinted, everyone else ceased to matter, but I was a baby when he did so maybe it worked differently. And if it had happened after, would that mean he was gay? No, it couldn't or he wouldn't have imprinted on me, right?

"It was before I imprinted," he answered, again without elaboration, but at least eliminating one concern. It had never really crossed my mind that he might have been with someone else. I knew Soli had tried, but failed and I couldn't remember him ever being around any other girls or, I guess… guys, outside of the pack when I was younger except the Port Angeles crew and… oh. Maybe he was with Mark before I came into the picture, but that didn't necessarily mean he hadn't been involved with one of them since then. He might even prefer guys, what would that mean for us then?

"Have you… were there… was it only him?" I asked timidly, my body unthinkingly leaning towards him, seeking the strength he always provided me with as I waited uneasily for his answer.

"Yes," he said immediately, obviously surprised I'd even asked which immediately made me feel horrible.

I knew he'd never take a relationship lightly; he cared far too deeply for the people in his life to do that, especially when he would have known how it would hurt me. That revelation led to another and now I was worried about the possibility that he and Mark had been something serious, only I unintentionally ruined it… like Maddox had for his sister, Amber.

"Were you guys together, like uh—a couple, before I was born?"

"Sorta… but not really. We were only together once then I saw you," he said nervously, taking my hands and squeezing, imploring me to understand and I was trying, but it was like pulling teeth here and his answer hadn't made much sense.

"Did it only end because of me? Did you still want to be with him after you imprinted," I asked fearfully, my stomach twisting like a wet rag being wrung at having to ask that. I glanced away in case he said yes, but didn't see what I was looking at. I tried to focus on breathing his clean fragrance to stay calm until I heard his answer.

"No! No, I didn't… I…"

"Maybe, you could tell me a bit more cuz I'm a little confused here, but, uh, try not to get too detailed," I finally just asked when he trailed off again.

"Yea, of course, sorry… I wasn't sure if you'd want to know, but, uh right—" He broke off close to tears. I immediately moved to hug him, not meaning to upset him and he clung to me, pulling me onto his lap. I held him tighter, desperate to let him know everything was alright and that I wasn't going anywhere.

"Taylor, I'm not mad at you, honest," I said moving to kiss him, giving support to my words, also selfishly hoping he would feel our connection and it would remind him that he was mine. He tasted like the wine we'd had with dinner, the flavor popping in my mouth like biting into an extra juicy grape on a warm sunny day.

"Well he was my best friend, my only friend since Ethan was having Trisha problems," he grumbled the last part leaving a lot unsaid in relation to his thoughts on her, but I knew him well enough to read between the lines. "We had both just phased for the first time I knew he liked me, the whole pack did, and I was worried that he wouldn't want to be friends anymore if we didn't try. I was confused and scared and, and… well a horny teenager and nothing made sense, but then I saw you and everything suddenly did. I was yours and I have been ever since and I always will be."

The whole situation made more sense to me now too and I could definitely understand hormones. I was still jealous, I wanted to be Tay's first and only love, but I couldn't change the past and it didn't really matter anymore. What mattered was that he was with me now and that he wanted to be. He'd never made me think otherwise, I'd shared his thoughts enough times that I should have remembered sooner instead of letting myself become overwhelmed with unfounded and paranoid doubts.

I also knew that he'd shared this information with me now because he knew our relationship was solid enough for this not to impact it in the slightest, but rather, like he'd said at the start, it was important to be honest with one another.

"Say something, please," he beseeched me.

"Do you want to be mine? Are you happy with me?" I whispered hesitantly, checking that I was correct in my assumption.

"Yes." That one word was saturated in love and wanting and pure happiness; and he said it so convincingly that I was positive I had nothing to worry about.

"Good, because I love you and I want you to be mine, just like I'm yours," I said kissing him with a smile.

"Forever," he added running his hands up my back to hold my face in place, lengthening and deepening the kiss. It was slow and inspired different feelings and reactions within me than his usual kisses did. This felt more like an unspoken understanding was being communicated, like a pledge or oath was being made on some deeper primal level. It was very intense in a wholly indescribable way and when it ended, I knew Taylor had felt the difference too.

~*~ ∞ ~*~


	6. For the Rest of Forever, Part II

**A/N: Any wolves you recognize from The Twilight Saga belong to Stephanie Meyer.**

**Basically everything else, including past and present wolf pack members, imprints, wolf families, and additional characters in this story belong to the universe created by the amazing, brilliant, and wonderfully talented yay4shanghai!**** She even has dibs on the plot… I just wrote it :)**

**Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed, I love hearing from you! Only one more chapter, so please review ;) **

**As always I recommend you read the other spinoffs by liljenrocks, ari11990, AsagariMelody, Guzhong, twihardcaligurl, intiMACYx33, and TwilightHeart21. They are fantastic and worth taking the time to read. **

**Thanks to my fabulously wonderful beta, yay4shanghai, there aren't words to describe how amazing you are!**

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For the Rest of Forever, No Matter What Part II

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February 2039

"Are you sure you're really okay with everything?" Tay inquired after a few minutes of silence. We were still snuggled closely, me on his lap resting against his broad shoulders and sinewy chest with his arms locked tightly around me.

"Yes. It was a little unexpected, but I'm fine," I promised again understanding he needed the reassurance right now, even pulling back to look in his long lashed, velvety dark eyes to allow him to see my sincerity.

When he sighed in relief, I joked, "still jealous, but mostly because my uncle has gotten farther with you than I have." I added a teasingly pointed look and was rewarded by the sight of a pink stain blooming high across his cheek bones. Although, if I were completely honest with myself, which I wasn't being at the moment, I don't know how much of that was an actual joke and how much was me being serious.

"I'm sor—" Tay started to apologize again, but I cut him off by placing a finger against his lips and he immediately kissed it sweetly. It was impossible to ever be mad at this guy.

"It's in the past. What matters is that we're together now and that we always will be." I told him again truthfully and he hugged me once more, pulling me in close until I felt like I was shielded from the rest of the world and it was just the two of us.

"I love you so much, Melody. You're the only person I'll ever love for as long as I live," he swore earnestly before kissing me, his tongue plundering my mouth. Then, just as we started to lie back, his phone rang making him instantly alert. "I need to send a quick message, be right back," he claimed in a rush, bounding off me like a pebble launched from a sling shot heading to his phone, which had been left in the kitchen.

I was tempted to ask if he was calling Mark, but decided that wouldn't be a very good idea. I resented him a little, though I didn't want to. He'd always been an amazing and loving uncle to me and I understood that it had to of been hard for Mark when Tay imprinted on me and I regretted that, but it didn't change the fact that I still wished I could have clung to the girlish fantasy I had about each of us only having been with the other. But man, it was going to be awkward looking him in the eye next time I saw him knowing what I do now.

"It was about the rest of our plans for tonight," he told me gliding back into the room and glancing at my face, accurately reading my troubled thoughts as well as the insecurity I had been feeling in my expression.

"What are they?" I asked curiously hoping to change the subject, but he just smiled and shook his head to let me know I'd find out eventually.

I wondered if he was planning on us finally having sex tonight. We hadn't progressed that far as of yet in our relationship. It wasn't that we were really waiting on anything in particular, exactly, more… it just hadn't happened yet, although it was bound to soon or I think one of us might spontaneously combust.

It wasn't for lack of opportunity either, because we had plenty of those. Since Dev's funeral when things progressed in our relationship, it became a lot harder to be apart, which meant we rarely were, neither of us seeing the point in unduly adding to our misery.

I'd needed him then, couldn't really function without him nearby. He was my rock, my support, sharing my pain and letting me use him as a crutch when the grief threatened to topple me or going out of his way to provide distractions like life preservers when it attempted to drown me. Tay gave me ample reasons to smile again when I thought I'd forgotten how. Like a breath of fresh air he filled me, revitalizing my soul and filling the aching hole in my heart. He made me nearly whole again, enough that I could help Levi stay afloat instead of being sucked into the quicksand of his depression and ending up sinking beside him.

My whole life I'd needed Tay, but never more than at that time. Nights were the worst, sleep evading me unless I was nestled in his arms. My parents didn't mind him staying with me, they were grateful for his help. During the school year he stayed at my house on weeknights, but on weekends, summer and holidays, I got to stay with him wherever. My dad's only request had been not to stay with him more than two nights in a row and to stop back home or at the very least check in at least once every twenty-four hours to keep him and mom from worrying. That said, opportunity obviously wasn't holding us back.

At first, neither of us really saw the need to push for sex, content with the way things were going and willing to let the intimacy of our relationship progress naturally. This was fine, for a while. Only, things haven't progressed as I thought they would. Instead, we've been stuck on a plateau for going on three years, okay only two and a half, but anyways, I have yet to see either of us making any headway or even really attempting to and it was starting to get frustrating.

We wanted more, or I know I did and I'm nearly certain he does too, but I didn't know how to take things to the next level. We'd talked about it, but the discussions usually ended with it'll happen when it happens or by one of us getting distracted by the other since these conversations typically took place in bed. It wasn't like trying to kiss him had been because I wasn't sure how to go about trying to start this without it getting awkward, seductive, temptress and enchantress were adjectives that described Amber, not me. And a passionate kiss wasn't the answer. We already did that all the time and more, but it never seemed to lead to sex and I didn't want to push him if it wasn't what he wanted too.

More importantly than just wanting to, we were both ready to have sex as well. I was young, but I knew I was ready, not just physically mature, but emotionally ready and instinctively I knew he was too, especially now that I already knew he had. I have loved him forever, literally every single day of my life and we'd been romantically and physically together for over two years now. He is the only guy I'd ever love and I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he would never hurt me and that he felt the same about me. Plus, being a wolf meant I didn't have to worry about getting pregnant, so that issue wasn't a factor.

While I knew we were ready, I reluctantly acknowledged that I wasn't entirely sure if tonight, just after his big reveal was the best time. I hadn't been self-conscious around Tay once since I imprinted on him, but I had a feeling I would be tonight if that's what he had planned for us or maybe it was more that I'd feel like I had something to prove or some expectation to live up to. I didn't doubt he loved me and only me, but I was still worried that maybe it wouldn't be as good for him. I was mature enough to recognize that we shouldn't have sex while I was having these kinds of thoughts and that we should wait, regardless of how much I wanted to.

"Come on, you haven't seen the rest of the place yet. Actually, there's really just my room left. I was rushing to get the place done so I could show you and I haven't set up the guest room yet. Right now it's just storage for all the extra stuff from my apartment." Tay's words seemed to fall right in line with my previous thoughts. Our minds must have been on a parallel track, because when he turned and caught sight of the slight apprehension and surprise in my expression, he assessed my face then said understandingly, "not tonight. It doesn't feel right and it wouldn't be for the right reasons."

Trying to play off my nervousness so he wouldn't think I didn't want to in the very, very near future, I shrugged nonchalantly before brazenly saying, "can't blame me for going there. It's nearly impossible not to think about wanting to have sex with you, especially when you talk about showing me your bedroom."

He stopped breathing and his heart rate increased dramatically when I said that so blatantly then wiggled my eyebrows suggestively. I proceeded to sashay as seductively as I could, deliberately emphasizing the sway of my hips as I moved past him while dragging the tip of my fingernail lightly across his naked chest, heading towards one of the closed bedroom doors in his house. I was still a few feet from it when I heard him move, quickly coming up behind me.

Like a flash of lightning he grabbed me, spinning me around and slamming my back against the door in the span of an instant, pinning me with his body. "God, Mel, do you have any idea what you do to me?" The question came out as a muttered growl just before his lips descended on mine in a savage almost feral kiss and I had a pretty good idea how I affected him if it was even a small measure of how he affected me.

"Uh-mmm." My gasp turning into a moan as he ground his hips against mine roughly. I could feel his stiffness while his hands aggressively roamed my body. They slid under the hem of my shirt, dragging it up as they progressed to my breasts, massaging them and tweaking my hardened nipples through my thin black satin bra until I was gasping into his mouth.

"Ahh," Tay groaned when I ran my own hands down his back, digging my nails in just hard enough that the scratches would make him buck wildly against me. When they reached the top of his low-riding jeans, I maneuvered them beneath the loose denim to clasp his butt cheeks, squeezing and pressing him harder against me.

After another minute of intense kissing, he broke away. "Wrong room," he said chuckling darkly then taking my hand and pulling me across hall.

The sexual tension of a moment ago drained away at once when we stepped inside his room. I was too distracted taking it in and he was busy watching my reaction. The room was completely him and I loved it. There were windows covering a large portion of the two outside walls and it was done in a scheme of red, black and white. There was a desk with a heart shaped red chair on wheels and a black low to the floor Japanese style bed with white bedding except a black throw blanket draped across the end. Above the bed was a modern print in the same colors and it looked like there were two huge eyes staring cross-eyed out of it.

The best part though, was a clear bowl shaped chair hanging from the ceiling lined with silver cushions. Tay was sitting in it and when I stepped closer to examine it, he reached out snagging my arm and pulling me across his lap, extending his legs outward. The action sent the chair spinning.

We immediately picked up where we'd left off in the hall, my torso twisting to face him allowing us to kiss passionately. Between the heat of his moist mouth, the taste of his sweet lips and the circling of the chair, I was lightheaded and dizzy in seconds. My hands threaded between the longer hair on the sides of his head and gripping tightly, using him as an anchor to keep me grounded.

Once the chair slowed to a stop, I moved to straddle him, never breaking our kiss as I wedged one knee on either side of him. He slid forward a bit and grabbed my butt pulling me firmly against him, locking our sexes together. The movements set the chair swinging again, but back and forth now in a natural rocking motion that caused us to grind against one another perfectly.

Pulling back after a second, I kept one hand on his head, my fingers entwined in the shorter silky locks of the hair on the back of his head to hold our faces close, while the other trailed down to cover his racing heart, our muted russet skin tones blending together. "You're mine," I asserted possessively rolling my hips against the bulge in his pants as I said it so he knew I meant all of him.

Logically I'd understood and wasn't upset about it, but just then the wolf in me had demanded I stake my claim and ensure he knew in no uncertain terms that he belonged to me and no one else. Desire flared in his eyes, his pupils dilating and I felt the hardness of his member increase against my pelvis, the sensation generating a rush of wetness in my core. He inhaled and his grip on my hips tightened.

"All yours," he vowed reaching up to yank my face back to his, but just as our lips touched a knock sounded at the front door.

"Ugh," I groaned in frustrated disappointment at the interruption as my forehead fell forward against Tay's shoulder. "What's Solace doing here right now?" I whined pitifully, smelling who was standing outside.

"Come on, let's go see," Tay said chuckling and I looked up at him questioningly. His smile told me he'd been expecting him, so he must have something to do with the rest of what Tay had planned for us tonight. I slowly got up, giving him time to readjust himself then followed him into the living room to answer the door, interested to see what these big plans were and if they were worth the interruption.

"You guys ready?" Solace asked grinning as he stood framed in the doorway, excitement and anticipation illuminating his features almost as thoroughly as they were Tay's. With a quick glance at my baffled expression he chuckled as he came in, saying, "I guess you haven't told her yet."

We all walked towards the kitchen, following Tay's gracefully gliding lead. Upon entering the room, he immediately moved to clear the table of the forgotten remains we'd left out after dinner. Instinctively I made to help him, acting on autopilot in my distraction as I tried in vain to figure out what was going on. I was still in the dark even after I noticed the mysterious dark canvas bag Solace had been carrying, which he now set on an empty portion of the table.

"The place looks great," Solace said sincerely as he looked around, noting the rooms with interest.

"Thanks, man." Taylor replied modestly.

"Amber really does a great job," Solace added nostalgically, his eyes saddening as they took on a far away, vacant look as he probably remembered another time or place when he'd been with her.

"Yup," Tay said a little awkwardly, popping the P and nodding slightly, not really knowing what else to say to him just then.

Solace seemed a little happier in the last few months than I had seen him in a long time and it was good to see, but it seemed false, a deceptive happiness like the calm before the storm. I think spending his days with Amber and his nights with Maddox was really playing havoc on his mind, leaving him all out of sorts. I wanted to see him happy, truly happy, he'd been miserable and suffered enough in his life, but I was fairly sure this wasn't the right way to go about achieving it.

Pausing by the sink where I'd begun washing the dirty plates, I looked back at Tay in silent question when he handed off the last of the dishes then reached past me to shut off the water.

"Leave 'em. We can finish later," he suggested kissing the tip of my nose playfully then embracing me tenderly.

"Ah, domestic bliss," Solace teased watching us from the table. I glanced over to poke my tongue out at him from the safety of Tay's arms like I used to when I was younger. He laughed before reaching back into his bag and pulling out a familiar hard plastic stencil that I'd seen as a child and contained a cut-out shape I'd recognize anywhere.

"Oh!" I exclaimed in recognition, jerking away to stare incredulously at Taylor, shocked and speechless, my complete disbelief palpable. The infinity tattoos. That's what he had planned for us tonight. I was stunned, bowled over like I'd been hit in the gut with a wrecking ball and little cartoon birdies with looping around my head flying in circles.

"We don't have to. I just thought… I wanted to show you how much you mean to me, to commit to you, let you know I meant it when I told you you're the only one I love, that I'll ever love, but if you don't want to—" he look down defeated, his broad muscular shoulders slumping in on himself as he continued speaking.

"Are you serious?! Of course I do!" I cut him off yelling enthusiastically once I'd recovered, jumping on him and wrapping my body around his like creeping ivy on a garden trellis, peppering his face with kisses as he laughed at my thrilled, over joyous response.

"I'll just get set up then, we're doing them here, right?" Solace checked laughing at us then prepared the stencil and loaded the tattoo gun with black ink when Tay confirmed the location.

"You should go first since your parents started this," Tay said happily. With a final kiss, I released my death grip on him and walked over to the table tugging off my shirt as I went.

Tay gravitated closer until he was practically hovering over me like an overbearing shadow when Solace glanced up at our approach. I rolled my eyes at him, silly wolf. He smiled sheepishly kissing my cheek, but relaxed a bit.

It might just be me, but I swear the way every wolf zealously guarded their women around Solace was ridiculous. They were jealous for no reason, because he wasn't interested. Maybe he used to be, like twenty years ago, but he wasn't anymore. I didn't see the attraction anyways. When I was younger, okay sure, but since I imprinted, I don't see a single guy besides Tay. Nor did I want to, he was more than enough for me.

His jealousy was kind of flattering though, so I guess I didn't actually mind all that much. I rarely ever saw it, because typically, he had no reason to be. I made a point to constantly show him that he was my everything and that I needed him like oxygen, but our earlier discussion and the significance of what we were about to do might be bringing it out in him.

I pulled the chair out closest to Solace and sat down sideways, my back to him and smiled up at Tay. Night had recently fallen outside and the stars were visible in the clear black sky like little pinpoints of twinkling light. The room was brightly lit by the light fixture hanging above the table. None of us spoke. My pounding heart was the loudest sound in the room as I watched Taylor watching me while Solace traced the symbol on my back making the spot tingle in the way your scalp did when someone played with your hair.

"Hold my hand?" I asked Tay nervously. He immediately pulled a chair around to sit directly in front of me reaching out for my hands and gripping one in each of his massive palms, threading our fingers together.

I flinched when I heard the buzz of the gun start up, the movement causing Tay's smile to grow and I tensed. I held my breath while I waited for it to start and squeezed his hands hard, prepared for pain, but it didn't really hurt at all. I had definitely experienced worse pain in my short fifteen years. I relaxed, unclenching my muscles when I realized this was as bad as it got and right now it just kind of felt like someone pushing on an old bruise, a little uncomfortable, but not altogether painful.

I barely paid attention to my surroundings after that, choosing to lose myself in Taylor's richly dark orbs instead where I could easily see his love reflected back at me, his excitement over doing this coursing through my veins. I experienced what he felt, his emotions through our connection. It was intense and we never broke contact for longer than the span of a blink from the moment our hands linked till the moment the black, inked embodiment of our bond was completed.

We didn't speak to each other and Solace didn't try to interrupt our moment, so there was silence the entire time he worked. But every time Solace moved to get more ink, Tay would lean in and steal a kiss from me then mouth 'I love you' when he settled back into his seat and I would mouth it back.

I'd never discussed getting these tattoos with Taylor, never told him how important I felt getting it was or how I wanted to get it at a time when it would be extra meaningful for us, but that's one of the reasons he is so perfect. He just knew without me ever needing to say a word.

Getting this meant Tay wanted to spend the rest of his life with me and he was ready to marry me right now. We didn't need a traditional ceremony, because this was it. This was the ceremony that counted in my family, the truly meaningful one. Performing this act gave us a deeper connection, one I'd always longed to have with him and now we did.

For my parents and probably my uncles as well, getting these tattoos and making this vow was particularly important to them because they didn't have the guarantee that imprinting gave to their relationship. Tay and I had that guarantee, but it didn't detract any from the significance of this event for us, only strengthened our bond instead.

I grew up with my family treating this as a sacred event and I knew that when I did it, it would be for me too. It wasn't discussed, not the details of how it happens at least. My parents never answered questions about it, always simply telling my brothers and me that it was something we'd have to experience ourselves when the time was right and we'd found our soul mates. I never had to look for my soul mate, Taylor found me first.

I think that's why I've never mentioned it. It's not something I wanted to plan out, but rather feel. You can't plan a perfect moment, but you can enjoy one when it comes along and I guess I've always just counted on Tay knowing how to make it perfect for me, for us. He's known me my whole life and I trusted him to know the right time, to know when we were ready to commit to forever and everything that involved.

When Solace was finished with my tattoo, I kissed Tay, not breaking apart until Solace began clearing his throat loudly. We grinned at each other then switched seats and I took over Taylor's role from before. I didn't want to see it until his was done too, until the physical representation of our permanent link was completed.

I understood why Tay wanted to do this tonight, after telling me about Mark. It was reassuring. Even if I didn't think I needed reassuring it still was, putting all the pesky lingering doubts to rest. They were dead and buried now, because the past didn't matter in the face of the future and the future was about us, the two of us together.

When Taylor's tattoo was finished as well, we looked at them together in the sun mirror on his wall. They were perfect. The small, slightly reddened but dark infinity symbol stood out on each of our backs, looking even more perfect because our skin tones were so similar. We matched, like they were meant to be there all along.

It hit me, really hit me, what this meant after I hugged Solace in thanks and felt Tay step up and trace the sideways figure eight on my back as he said thanks as well. I shuttered at the sensation. It was the same as if he'd just slipped a wedding band on my finger. Wow. Married. I think Solace had it right before when he described it as domestic bliss because now, standing here in our home it truly did feel like we were married. I wanted the rest of forever to start now and getting these tattoos made it feel like it was.

"Thanks for doing this," we again thanked Solace profusely, Taylor hugging him so tightly I thought I'd need a crow bar to pry them apart.

After helping Solace pack the equipment back up, which hopefully he would be using again in the not too distance future for my brother, although Eli was more likely to be the next to use it, we saw him out. We paused at the front door, Solace assessing us closely with a wistful expression.

"Anytime… besides, I had nothing better to do, Amber wasn't working tonight and I can't see Maddie for a few more hours yet," he said sadly. It reminded me of what Taylor and I had just conversed about dinner earlier.

One of our main topics of discussion had been how Amber was doing being back and around Solace so much everyday for months on end. Tay reluctantly acknowledged that she was having a harder time than he thought even she realized and that there was no way things were going to end well for either of them if it went on much longer. He was worried sick, but didn't know what he should do, which left him feeling helpless.

I felt horrible hearing that. We'd talked about it countless times in the last five months since she'd been back, but we've never gotten any closer to a solution that would make everyone happy. It was like calling tails on a coin toss, but the coin had two heads, you were bound to lose.

I knew Taylor loved Solace like a brother still which made it was hard for him to think of Solace hurting his little sister and not step in to intervene on Amber's behalf, instead simply recognizing that she was all grown up and could make her own mistakes. He had always been really hard on himself where his sisters were concerned, especially Amber, trying to make up for Ethan's absence.

It'd been hard to see him beat himself up over the multiple heartaches Solace had caused Amber that he hadn't been able to prevent. Harder still because he couldn't bring himself to be mad at Solace about it, he was family, impossible not to love, and a lot of it had just been rotten luck. I did what I could for him, listening, offering advice when asked and reassuring him that he'd done everything he could, but I don't know how much it helped.

I hated the situation too. Amber had always been a big sister to me, even when she didn't live here. She always made time to answer any questions I had or give advice, no matter how awkward for her, like when Annie and I'd asked her for advice on sex. I wanted her to be happy again, but I had no idea how to help her. My only experience in matters of the heart involved Tay and he was absolutely perfect, he'd never hurt me and never would.

I was also a little worried because it had seemed like Solace was watching Taylor and I all night, not watching so much as studying, analyzing our interactions like a scientist observing an experiment. I'm not sure if he really was or if it was just me projecting my concerns. I hope that if he was, the message he was going home with was that he had the potential for just as much happiness.

"Take care of yourself and stop by anytime," I called out when he stepped outside, hoping he'd take that seriously. He was smiling when he looked back, so maybe he did and waved before heading home I presumed.

Once Solace was gone we made our way back to Tay's room, moving to stand beside his bed. We still hadn't spoken to each other, but no words had been needed before this. I knew we still weren't going to have sex and I was fine with that because tonight was already special, magical.

"I love you," I whispered being the first to break the spell of silence, but I maintained the connection between locked eyes. He stepped closer then behind me, leaning down to gently kiss the already healed symbol of our eternal commitment to one another. My eyes closed and I had to swallow the lump that formed in my throat as he did.

"I love you, Melody," he returned as his hands trailed up my back to unclasp my bra. "You are the most amazing woman I have ever met and I plan on spending the rest of my days devoted to showing you how much you mean to me," he promised punctuating the words by placing a string of kisses along one of my shoulders as he eased the strap off and guided it down my arms.

His hands came around my waist to unbutton my jeans and push them over my hips continuing, "everyday you give me new reasons to fall in love with you and I wake up each day looking forward to discovering them."

I stepped out of my pants and turned to face him reaching out to undo his own pants, listening to his words. "I love you with every inch of my body, with every ounce of my soul, with every beat of my heart and tonight, getting these marks, was about showing you that and starting the rest of our lives together because I can't live without you."

I wanted to respond in kind, but I was completely speechless at the moment, his words affecting me too greatly. It wasn't often he spoke so sentimentally. Generally, these things went without needing to be said or they were mentioned clearly enough in the other person's head, available to be heard when we both phased. Hearing it now had me nearly swooning, so overcome with love and desire I couldn't utter an intelligent word if I'd tired.

Nudging me towards the bed, I sat down then lay back when he finished kicking off his jeans and moved to crouch over me, only giving me a couple seconds to admire his naked body. He was long, lean and powerful. His muscles rippled as he moved, each one defined beneath his tautly stretched light copper skin. It was hard to look away from his captivating beauty. It shouldn't be possible for him to look so good.

The house was cool. He hadn't bothered to turn on the heat yet as only wolves had really been here so far and spring was just around the corner, almost upon us. I was thankful for the fact as he moved over me, our combined heats already building to a fevered pitch. I have a feeling we would always need to keep the house cool because I doubted I would ever get enough of him and we could just do this if we craved getting hot and sweaty.

He gave me a brief kiss on the lips before his mouth burned a blazing trail down my body, pausing at my breast to enclose the hardened peak of my nipple between his plump lips. He swirled his tongue around the bud sucking gently then caught it between his teeth giving it a little tug that made it even harder before releasing it and moving to do the same to the other.

While his mouth was occupied, his hands worked on removing the last item of clothing I was wearing, sliding the black lace thong from my body. He continued kissing a path down my sternum and farther down as he settled between my parted thighs, my feet flat on the bed. I gasped when his tongue tickled me, tracing my belly button and making my hips arch up and he moved farther down my torso finally reaching my mound.

His breath fanned over my sex causing me to gasp and arch towards his mouth. "Please, Tay," I begged shamelessly, needing him desperately. He didn't disappoint, immediately using his tongue to trace circles around the place I wanted him most then licking me with the flat of his tongue. It didn't take much. It never did for him to bring me to the brink.

"You taste so good," he pulled back slightly to murmur then continued licking my bundle of nerves. I always thought he tasted amazing too, better than the sweetest dessert imaginable, but then he stopped, leaving me poised on the edge of release.

"Uhhmm," I whimpered rocking my hips eagerly towards him, but he waited another moment. Just long enough for the feelings to pass. Then he began licking my folds, running his tongue along my slit from my entrance to my clit, which he gave an extra flick with the tip of his tongue on each pass. I was moaning loudly and bucking wildly on the verge of climaxing again, but once more he stopped.

"Ahhhhhhh," I groaned pitifully and he immediately brought one of his hands up to begin deliberately rubbing my swollen aching sex with the palm of his hand while slipping one of his long nimble fingers inside me and pumping it, his movements maddeningly slow before pulling his hand away altogether and chuckling evilly.

"Do you like that?" He asked pretending he didn't already know exactly how he affected me.

"Damn it, Taylor!" I cried in frustration, so worked up I could cry and longing for relief. A second later he reinserted his finger, adding a second and pumping faster than he had previously been while his mouth descended on my clit, his tongue rapidly swirling over the sensitive spot. My body bowed as my climax rushed through me almost instantly under his ministrations and I shouted out unintelligibly.

He didn't let up for an instant now. The heat of his mouth and thrust of his fingers assaulting my senses until everything in my mind was complete gibberish. I was panting, barely able to breathe. His fingers curled towards my navel, hitting my g-spot with accurate precision causing explosions of light to burst behind my closed eyes as euphoric waves crashed over me and it's possible I lost consciousness for a moment.

"I love when you do that," I sighed breathlessly once I had regained the power of speech and the control of my mind.

"You always say that," he joked crawling up my body. I pulled him down for a passionate kiss when he was level with me, tasting myself on him as our tongues dueled rolling us over in the process.

Descending down his silky smooth body much the same as he had mine, I teased him a bit first. Revenge is sweet after all. Nipping at his light brown nipples as I progressed then trailing kisses along one of his hip bones as I worked my way in from his side while also running my nails lightly up and down his inner thighs. When I reached his erect pulsating shaft, I moved up, hovering over the hot tip and looking up him to make eye contact. His pupils were dilated making his eyes black with heady desire that caused a spike of heat to sizzle through my veins like a flash fire.

His heart, already racing, sped even faster when I lightly blew on the tip causing him to twitch and gasp. Darting my tongue out, I swiped it along his head licking up the drop of salty fluid that had beaded there, making his heart skip a beat and his breath hitch before I quickly moved to his other side and begun trailing kisses along that angular hip bone as well.

"Mel," he groaned dropping his upraised head back against the bed and I giggled between kisses.

"What's wrong, Tay?" I asked feigning ignorance, betting he wished he hadn't teased me now.

"Ugh, you're killing me," he whined his hips undulating so that he was thrusting into the air. When he brought his hands up to cover his eyes in frustration over my slow torture, I made my move, engulfing as much of him into my mouth as possible, which was a little more than half. He sucked in a sharp breath then expelled it in a hiss when I brought a hand up to grip and pump the base. I sucked on him as I moved up swirling my tongue around the top before I plunged down his throbbing member again.

"Ahhhh," he moaned in pleasure and I giggled around him, generating vibrations that made him buck involuntarily, hitting the back of my throat. He frantically grabbed at the bedding beneath him as I continued bobbing, speeding up and moving my other hand up to cup his sack, gently massaging.

The first time I'd done this, I'd had no clue what to do really, just the tips and suggestions Amber had somewhat reluctantly given Annabelle and me and Annie had expanded on a short time later. It hadn't mattered though, because Taylor didn't last long and afterwards he'd acted like I was a deity and worshipped me as one. We'd had a lot of practice since then and it'd been easier than I thought it would be to figure out what he liked and how to please him.

His whole body was humming vibrantly; a sheen of slick sweat broke out on his skin making him seem even more alive as he approached his release, shaking harder. One of his hands came down to weave into my hair gripping tightly, but not forcing my movements, just holding it. He was panting and his moans were increasing in frequency and volume.

"Uhhhh!" With one last long cry he erupted in my mouth. I quickly swallowed, not releasing him until he had completely softened, finally letting go with a quiet popping sound as the suction seal my lips had formed around him was broken.

He pulled me up to him, moving us to the top of the bed where he draped the thin sheet loosely over our entwined sweaty bodies, my head on his chest. He kissed my temple lightly as our irregular breathing slowly returned to normal.

"I love you, Tay," I sighed contently, already making plans to wake him in an hour or two for round two.

He giggled snuggling me tighter against him before saying, "I love you too, Mel."

~*~ ∞ ~*~


	7. I Will Always Love You, Part I

**A/N: Any wolves you recognize from The Twilight Saga belong to Stephanie Meyer.**

**Basically everything else, including past and present wolf pack members, imprints, wolf families, and additional characters in this story belong to the universe created by the amazing, brilliant, and wonderfully talented yay4shanghai!**** She even has dibs on the plot… I just wrote it :)**

**Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed, I love hearing from you and I'm sorry if I didn't get a chance to respond. Once again I lied… this didn't turn out to be the last chapter, but please review anyways! **

**Thank you everyone who voted for this story, Levi's, and/or Annie's for the Pup and Leech Awards, I really appreciate your support! Also congrats to yay4shanghai, ari11990, and laurazuleta18 for their wins!**

**As always I recommend you read the other spinoffs by liljenrocks, ari11990, AsagariMelody, Guzhong, twihardcaligurl, intiMACYx33, and TwilightHeart21. They are fantastic and worth taking the time to read. **

**Thanks to my awesome beta, yay4shanghai, for supporting me as I drag this story out for the third time and for always inspiring me to want to write with your brilliant stories!**

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**I Will Always Love You Part I**

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June 2039

**Day 1**

Randy finally got his girl. He had just married Soledad Call in front of a rather large gathering in the forest just outside of La Push. The ceremony had been wonderfully romantic and very beautiful with natural decorations that provided vibrant splashes of complimentary colors from the abundant and very fragrant wildflowers with their delicate blossoms blooming everywhere, spotting the lush green backdrop created by the grassy clearing and bordering trees.

The whole pack was in attendance as were many of the vampire friends Soli had met during her travels through Europe with her family a few years ago. When I teared up Taylor pulled me close, cuddling me to his chest with a quiet chuckle whispering that he loved it when I got all sappy and sentimental, which of course only made me tear up worse.

The reception was in full swing now, having started immediately after the ceremony ended—Soli never was one to sit around idly when she could be living it up. That girl loved her parties and while I'm sure this one was a lot different from those she used to attend, it was obvious to anyone with eyes that there was nowhere she'd rather be than here with Randy Dru.

An area had been cleared to serve as a dance floor, under the shade of an enormous tent that had been loaned and erected by the Cullens present today, with the newlyweds at the center. They were engrossed in each other, passionately kissing and groping like a living art exhibit, acting as the centerpiece for this event, oblivious to the world around them and their audience of guests, but no one tried to interfere. They were happy, blissfully happy and it was a beautiful sight.

Other couples had begun filling the space around them, dancing as well, including Taylor and myself. It was euphoric to be held in his arms, gliding around the dance floor with an easy grace that was all him. He rarely let my strappy black, stiletto clad feet touch the floor, supporting and lifting me so they just skimmed the ground and I felt like I was floating or dancing on clouds. I was grateful because I knew without a doubt that my feet never would have held up without him considering we'd been out here since the music first began.

I was doubly grateful because I was so clumsy and should have known that it'd be a mistake to wear killer heels, killer because they were like have unbelievably painful, portable torture devices strapped to my feet and because there was a very good chance the vicious, devilish contraptions would make me trip and fall. That event wouldn't do me much harm, but there was a very distinct possibility that I'd end up taking someone else out with me.

I'd worn the shoes to try and look sexier, part of my attempt to seduce Taylor, hoping they'd make my legs look longer than they already did in my short, tight bandage dress, which was almost entirely a tangerine orange except for the top where a strip of saffron yellow covered my breast and a single shoulder. Luckily, I didn't have to worry much about balancing in my shoes. I could relax and depend on the protective embrace of my sexy charming love, Taylor, who looked sexier than ever in his charcoal dress shirt and black jacket with his hair in messy, windblown disarray, to keep me upright.

Time had lost all meaning and the din of the crowd had faded to a nearly nonexistent background hum. We weren't paying much attention to the eclectic playlist, courtesy of Randy as a way of catering to Soli's diverse taste in music. Tay and I just did our own thing, which involved a funky mix between ballroom dancing involving him spinning me around and around till I was so dizzy I would laughingly collapse against him. Then we would indulge in the high school version of slow dancing where we held each other close, pressed tightly together without an inch of space separating our bodies and we'd sway back and forth like the branches of a weeping willow lazily floating in the wind.

I was giddy, drunk on Tay as we clung to each other barely moving, our eyes locked with our foreheads resting against one another. I couldn't hear a single note of the song currently playing over my pounding heart and rushing blood roaring in my ears, but that hardly mattered for our style of dancing. The only thought I had beyond wanting to lose myself in his eyes, was to get out of here, find someplace private and _really_ get lost in him.

"I love you," I sighed feeling dazed by the intensity of his gorgeous mahogany flecked eyes, framed with impossibly long dark lashes and he giggled, pulling me tighter against him so our bodies rubbed deliciously together.

"You're having fun then?" He asked knowingly when I suppressed a moan.

"Do you have to ask?" I questioned while trying to hide my giddy smile by burying my face in his neck and deeply inhaling his clean scent. We were going to have even more fun later… he just didn't know it yet, or at least I was really hoping things would go down that way. I didn't really have much of a plan, just a vague idea of something to try that I really hoped would make him more amiable to my suggestion.

"Just checking," he joked dropping a tender kiss on my temple just as the song ended and the soft lulling notes of an actual slow song filled the air.

From my position, I saw Amber sitting alone at one of the tables, her parents no longer with her as Jared was now dancing with Kim. She looked sad and troubled, perhaps even lost as she watched from the sidelines.

"You should dance with Amber. I know you're going to miss her and she looks lonely," I whispered so as not to draw unnecessary attention to her from anyone close enough to overhear me.

"Good idea. I meant to earlier, but lost track of time," he agreed glancing down at me with a glint in his eyes that made my breath catch; I really couldn't wait till we could get out of here.

I joined Mark and Levi where they were sitting with Eli and Ava after Taylor left and the second I got there Levi started teasing me, grinning and signing, 'when did you get so graceful?'

'Always have been,' I replied feigning an indignant attitude, stiffening my back to stand up straighter and turning my nose up a bit with a haughty look that was wholly unfamiliar to me.

'Prove it,' Mark cut in to dare me before Levi could continue with his skepticism, standing then offering me a hand, which I immediately accepted. I let him lead me to the dance area before pleading with him.

"Please, don't let me fall—I'd never hear the end of it." He laughed and assured me he wouldn't. He was broader and just plain bigger than Taylor and I immediately missed Tay's lean body and streamline movements. I fit safely into a niche that was carved just for me when I was in his arms and that couldn't be duplicated or fabricated anywhere else.

Mark studied me as we danced and I wondered if he could tell what I had semi-planned, which inadvertently made me wonder if he'd ever thought out Taylor seduction scenarios himself. I tried to steer away from that line of thinking, but unfortunately they were replaced with a subject I wished to avoid equally as much, but I was unable to do so. I think Mark could tell, though he didn't mention it, just smiled understandingly as I unintentionally remembered the first time I'd seen him after finding out about his and Tay's past relationship.

_Tay and I had just arrived at Mark and Jordan's cabin for dinner. We had gotten our tattoos the night before and we were meeting my parents and Levi here for dinner, but the others hadn't arrived yet and Eli was over at Phil's with Ava so it was just the four of us. When this registered, I looked at Mark then blushed scarlet and dropped my eyes to the floor. He and Tay and been talking, but their conversation ceased immediately. The room remained silent for a moment before Mark sighed gravely._

"_Are you mad at me?" He asked seriously and my eyes shot up to meet his in surprise. I wonder if Tay told him he planned to tell me last night or if I was just that obvious._

"_No!" I exclaimed, instantly contrite because I wasn't and I hadn't meant to make him think that, I was just a little embarrassed knowing what I did. "Sorry, I…" I floundered, trailing off because I didn't know what to say._

"_Do you have any questions you want me to answer?" He asked and I winced. Though he didn't voice it, I knew implicitly that this was a one time offer. I already knew all I needed to and though I did in fact have a few other questions, I recognized that the answers were irrelevant. Plus, I didn't exactly feel comfortable asking them in front of Taylor and Jordan, it seemed like I would be needlessly stirring up cold cinders from an already doused fire._

"_No, I think I'm good." _

"_Melody," Mark began and I braced myself for whatever it was he intended to say, feeling the significance and weight to his words, "you know that it was a long time ago, right? Anything… romantic, between us ended then. There's nothing lingering or unresolved that you should be concerned about. I am only in love with Jordan just as Taylor is only in love with you."_

"_Yeah, I know," I said glancing at Taylor where he was staring fixedly at me, his love clear to see._

"_Good," Mark said with an air of finality and just like that everything was back to normal. _

"May I cut in?" Taylor requested smoothly from behind Mark while tapping him on the shoulder like I'd seen gentlemen do in period movies, his voice bringing me back to the present.

"You may," Mark graciously allowed, acting in the same manner Taylor had been by stepping aside and bowing deeply at the waist with his hand extended towards me as if presenting me to Tay at a royal court. "I was just standing in until you returned to collect the lady." The entire transition was so completely formal that I couldn't resist laughing boisterously at them.

I saw Mark wink at me from over Tay's shoulder as he swept me into his arms and spun us away in wild looping circles that sent people scattering as we blazed an erratic path around the dance floor. I clung to him, trying and failing to catch my breath through my laughter. He stopped after a minute, having successfully broken apart the newlyweds so Annabelle finally got a chance to dance with her best friend Randy, who she had immediately launched herself at.

"Didn't Amber want to dance?" He'd only been gone a few minutes, not even the length of two full songs, though the second had come to a close sometime during our escapades.

"No, said she wasn't feeling up to my kind of dancing today then sent me back to you," he said knitting his brow, his thoughts obviously troubled as he glanced at the table where Amber was once again seated alone, Jared and Kim getting stopped while on their way back by Embry and Leticia, who were back for their daughter's wedding. His face told me that he was more concerned than usual, but also that he was at a loss on how to help.

"Amber's tough. You know she'll pull through this alright, don't you," I asked trying to sooth his worry and disperse his fears. Also to convince him things would work out, because if there was anyone strong enough to handle this, it was surely Amber Wahalla.

"She shouldn't have to and if she does, she shouldn't have to move so far away to do it," he pouted poking out his puffy bottom lip slightly. He looked utterly adorable and I wanted to taste it so badly, but he needed help dealing with this right now so I forced myself to focus and pay attention in order to point out his flawed logic and help him see the situation reasonably.

He rarely let his emotions control his thinking; he was far too level headed for that. I think he was now because it hurt him that he'd tried to be here for Amber all these years and it hadn't mattered, as soon as things got really bad she ran to Ethan for help instead. He'd never admit that he felt like a failure for not being able to help, but I knew it was making him search for any excuse he could today to prove that he was just as capable of helping her.

"But she does. You can't always fix things or fight her battles for her, you've done all you can for her and you should be happy that she seems to be on the right track, that she's making progress and moving forward with her life."

"That's the problem, I'm not so sure that she is," he muttered gravely, looking back over at Amber again and sighing deeply.

"What do you mean? Did she say something?" I prodded searching his apprehensive eyes, wondering if anything more than not feeling like dancing had been said to trigger his increased alarm or if it was just simply a feeling he'd gotten from her. Maybe this really was about more than I'd previously assumed.

"Not really. She was pretty distant, I couldn't get a good read on her," he admitted wearily, unconsciously gripping me tighter and I leaned into him, silently offering him my support and understanding. "She's excited yet completely miserable here, which are both pretty understandable, but there's this weird vibe I kept getting off her and it gives me the feeling that there's something more to what's going on with her than the obvious… and I didn't—I was afraid to say the wrong thing, make it worse, you know?"

"Yeah, I get it. Want me to give it a try, see if she'll talk to me?" I asked figuring it'd be polite to at least give him the appearance of having some input on the decision, though I was planning to regardless of his answer because now he had me just as worried and because I selfishly didn't want either of us dwelling on Amber later tonight.

"Maybe you'll have better luck," he said nodding and running a hand through his dark shaggy hair making pieces stick out chaotically. I was relieved that he wanted me to. We never fought, but I didn't want to go against him today, not when that would spoil the mood and ruin what I had in mind for us to do in a little while. I kissed him briefly and offered a reassuring smile before heading off to speak with Amber, who looked like she could use the company anyways.

I collapsed heavily into the inviting chair beside her at the otherwise vacant table, releasing an exaggerated sigh of relief immediately followed by a painful groan when I suddenly noticed my aching feet. She glanced at me, softly chuckling and shaking her head a bit, privately amused by my dramatics.

It was a great relief to see her smile, though that only lasted a moment before it hit me how much I was going to hate not being able to see it for a long time after this. I didn't give her a chance to speak before swiftly grabbing her and yanking her into a tight hug fiercely saying, "I am going to miss you so much."

"I'll really miss you too," Amber responded with a sad smile as her eyes started to tear up once I'd released her.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make this harder for you… don't cry, Amber," I begged hugging her again and though I knew I probably shouldn't, I asked, "are you sure you want to leave?" If she was even slightly unsure about going then I'd beg her to stay, if she just wanted help moving on, we could give it to her if she'd rather not move… though I do think she's right about going. It probably will be easier to do there, plus she will have Ethan and Elena and I know she'll enjoy spending time with them.

"Its fine, you're fine. You didn't make it harder and I do want to go, this," she paused to smile reassuringly and gesture to her leaking eyes, "is just a combination of things—being back, not knowing when I will be again, knowing who and what I'll miss, other… stuff." That made sense; it had to be hard seeing her best friend get her happy ending while being alone herself. It made me grateful that Solace didn't stay for the reception. It also didn't escape my notice that he hadn't even acknowledged Amber while he had been around. I'm not sure what Taylor had been talking about, but I didn't sense anything from Amber beyond that.

"How ya holding up? Earlier must have been hard…" I regretted adding the last part the second I'd said it, like rubbing her nose in the fact Solace had picked someone else and that this morning it appeared he hadn't had any trouble moving on, but she just gave me a small smiled.

"I'm alright, could do with a distraction… how are things going with my brother?" She asked laughing a little and I grinned thinking about him.

"He's perfect and things… are the same as ever…" I trailed off with an exasperated sigh. We'd gotten our infinity tattoos just over three months ago and we still hadn't had sex. The time had flown by. We'd both been so happy that I actually hadn't noticed till just recently, but since I had I wanted to—_immediately_.

"Still no progress? I thought for sure you guys were already having sex, I even remember Annie saying something about it once," Amber remarked in disbelieving surprise.

"You and everybody else, but unfortunately no… we're not. _However_, I have a plan or at least a partial one."

"Well, let's hear it," she said chuckling and I whispered it to her, not wanting those present with supernatural hearing to pick up what I was saying. "Yeah, that should just about do it. You'll be impossible to resist."

"You really think so?"

"I'd say it's a safe bet, he's a sure thing," she said looking across the dance floor to where Taylor had just called out for me and I felt myself shift forward to the edge of the chair like his voice was tugging me towards him. "Get outta here, go have fun and I'll see you tomorrow," she urged and before she'd finished talking I was up and headed off, but I shot a look at her when she added, "don't forget protection!" She must have forgotten I don't need it. I just shook my head and didn't bother correcting her, too eager to reach Tay.

"I missed you," he announced pulling me in for a kiss, but I was giggling too much at his silliness and he ended up kissing more of my chin than my lips.

"I was only gone a few minutes and it was just across the room," I reasonably pointed out making him smile brightly.

"I know, but that was a few minutes too long and too far away. You belong here, in my arms," he explained sweetly making my heart skip a beat, which made him grin knowingly. "How's Amber?"

"She's fine, promise," I said reassuringly and he nodded, sighing in relief and quickly kissing me again in thanks. "You know, I doubt anyone would miss us if we left early," I whispered suggestively.

"You don't want to stay," he asked playing dumb, but the gleam in his eye and the fact that he was already inching us away from the others gave him away.

"I can think of something better we could be doing…" I trailed off sliding my fingertips down the hard planes of his chiseled abs and lower over his already semi-hard erection, which my touch seemed to bring alive till it was visibly straining against his pants and he hissed.

"I'm sure you can," he remarked darkly as he grabbed hold of my hand pulling me along behind him and like that we were gone without a single glance back at what we were leaving behind.

When we got back to his house I kicked off my heels by the front door then followed him into the bedroom where he was removing his jacket to hang up. Before he got a chance to, I pushed him down on the low bed where he landed on his back with a breathy, "oomph," as the air was expelled from his lungs, hindering him from moving just as I'd hoped.

I took advantage of his immobilization, immediately pulling my dress off over my head and climbing on top of him, straddling his hips and his eyes automatically locked on mine as I ground against his thick erection. I paused briefly, giving him time to see me fully and watched his eyes widen dramatically once he saw that I had been naked beneath my dress. His eyes were riveted to me as though he'd never seen my exposed body before and I felt the grip of his hands on my hips tighten noticeably while I privately celebrated, thrilled to have so thoroughly captured his interest.

A second later I bent, kissing him roughly and forcing my tongue into the sweet cavern of his mouth. He responded instantly, sucking it further between his lips and bringing his own tongue into play while his hips bucked up, gyrating against my unclothed sex. I could easily feel the heated radiating from his scorching member, though his thin pants till the tingling warmth reached my core and we were both panting and moaning.

"Ohhh," I gasped when one of his big warm hands reached up to cup my breast, catching my puckered nipple between his thumb and finger, pinching it gently, making desire flare to life in the pit of my stomach, intense and uncontrollable. I shivered as a spider web of pleasure spread through me, originating at my center, its intricate web racing outward to deliver the sensations throughout my body.

I grabbed the edges of his shirt. Slipping my fingers under the light cotton fabric in the open space between two buttons, I ripped it open sending the little black disks flying as they were rent from it because I was in too much of a hurry to waste time popping each one through its securing hole. Dropping the frayed edges of his now ruined shirt, I raked my nails down his chest and abs, just hard enough that he released a hissing, "ssssssssss," through his clenched teeth as his back bowed.

"Mmmm," I moaned into Tay's mouth when his hands inched down to squeeze my butt, insistently grinding his hardness up against me and I could tell he wanted more. I marveled at how the friction made me quiver and my toes curl exquisitely. I reached between us to unbutton his pants, releasing him from their confining fabric and he instantly sprang free. I pulled back from our heated kiss to sit up and shift lower, which allowed me to wrap my hand around his stiff shaft and stroke him firmly.

"Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" He panted in a mix of desire and amusement, though his arousal won out as his dilated eyes, lust turning them to endless pools of inky darkness, ran over my naked body sitting enticingly astride him.

"No, I'm trying to have sex with you," I informed him bluntly and his eyes shot to mine, assessing if I was serious or not and I gave him an extra squeeze and sharp tug that evidently made him decide I was.

"Oh, well in that case," he said yanking me back down to kiss him again with renewed vigor, sucking my lower lip between his and catching it with his teeth to nibble at it lightly.

"Figured you wouldn't mind," I mumbled against his mouth, though the words were pretty much impossible to make out around our frenzied kiss and I hadn't really been sure of his response at all and honestly I couldn't believe how perfectly this was all working out.

"Wait!" Taylor cried out pulling away to look at me seriously, "you sure about this?"

"Yes!" I cried out desperately then realized maybe he didn't want to and that's why he stopped us, so I released my grip on him and sat fully upright before reluctantly asking, "don't you want to?"

"Of course, but you're not even sixteen yet," he said slowly, as if he didn't quite believe what he was saying himself and like my age held a great deal of significance which made me want to groan in frustration. Why was sixteen such a magic number? Neither of my parents made it to sixteen before they had sex, Taylor could barely claim fourteen and Devlin hadn't even made it to thirteen, though he'd been just shy of it and fully mature physically just as I was and had been for years now.

"I will be in a few weeks," I tried to argue, fervently hoping this wasn't going to be an issue because I didn't want to wait any longer.

"Or a few months," he corrected with a giggle that made me roll my eyes and sigh in exasperation as I crossed my arms over my chest. He immediately pulled them back down with a smirk, "don't hide those, I was enjoying the view." I laughed with him, all of my previous frustration evaporating away, that had kind of been the point of me being naked after all.

"Taylor," I started seriously after our laughter faded, studying him intently. "Are you going to see me any differently once I am sixteen or are you going to love me more then than you do now?"

"No," he answered truthfully and without hesitation.

His response let me know that we were finally on the same page and that this was really about to happen, but still I had to ask. "Then what's the problem?"

"No problem, just thought I should put up a token protest… don't want you to think I'm easy or in case your dad ever asks," he answered slyly as his hands sliding up my torso until they reached my breasts and he slid his palms over my stiff, pointed nipples making them even harder and I shuttered, pressing myself more firmly into his hands.

"Right, I think you're just scared you won't be able to keep up with me," I taunted bending down to nip at the tender spot at the base of his neck, sucking on his rapidly increasing pulse. "Now that it's been so long and you're so old and all," I added daringly because he was turning thirty soon and I knew he felt like that was significant somehow, though I was still mystified by why.

"Why don't we put that to the test," he came back breathlessly and I chuckled as I began a descent down his body, trailing open mouthed kisses and nips along the way.

"Oh I intend to," I paused to whisper before tugging his pants off, planning to fully enjoy testing his stamina as I crouched on the edge of the bed between his parted russet legs.

I resumed my firm stroking grip on the base of his shaft and immediately dropped to engulf the rest of him deeply into the wet warmth of my mouth, swirling my tongue along the ridges of his shaft. He was almost sweet and I licked him like a yummy lollie, swiping my tongue across his tip as I bobbed, enjoying how that made him moan and twitch.

"Ahhh," he moaned in pleasure, bucking slightly when I touched an extra sensitive spot, his hands leaving the bedding he'd had them wrapped tightly around by his hips and coming up to tread in my hair. I used my other hand to cup his sack and gently massage, feeling how it tightened in the palm of my hand just before he spoke.

"Mel, I'm close," he said unnecessarily. I could always tell and I savored it, loving how I made him come undone. I had barely finished the thought when he erupted in my mouth, several hot spurts that hit the back of my throat and had a salty sweet taste like chocolate covered pretzels and I immediately swallowed it all.

I licked my lips once I'd released him, not doing so till he began to soften then grinned up at him. He chuckled, sitting up to remove his torn shirt and pull me forward for a heated kiss, his silky lips molding to my lips as his tongue poked into my mouth to play with mine.

He rolled on top of me, running his hand up my inner thigh and trailing a finger back and forth along my slick folds. Rotating his hand, I felt his thumb come to rest directly on my most sensitive spot. He flicked his nail across it and I gasped, arching into his hand and moaning when he brought his thumb up to cover it, pressing down and rubbing in tight, quick circles.

"Aaa, aaa, aaa." I couldn't inhale; I tried three failed attempts before I felt the orgasm seize my body, overtaking me with a shocking swiftness, my muscles tightening the moment it passed, locking me in place. Just knowing what would soon be happening had my body on edge like a guitar string wound too tight so a single plucking snapped it.

Not giving me a second to come down from the high he'd worked me into, he bent, sucking one of my darkened nipples between his puffy lips while plunging two fingers into my wet core and pumping. The sound of my panting, gasping cries of pleasure filled the room loudly as Taylor worshipped my body, keeping me in a constant state of ecstasy.

The tip of his hot moist tongue traced the puckered peak before he caught it with his teeth, biting just enough to bring me over the edge again as I found my release, thrashing wildly beneath him and bucking into his hand, the heel of which rubbing my mound while his fingers bent to pressed directly against the most sensitive area inside me. My vision clouded and for a second I think I blacked out.

~*~ ∞ ~*~


	8. I Will Always Love You, Part II

**A/N: Any wolves you recognize from The Twilight Saga belong to Stephanie Meyer.**

**Basically everything else, including past and present wolf pack members, imprints, wolf families, and additional characters in this story belong to the universe created by the amazing, brilliant, and wonderfully talented yay4shanghai!**** She even has dibs on the plot… I just wrote it :)**

**Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed, I love hearing from you! I think this is what many of you have been waiting for, so ENJOY!!!! Oh yeah, still not the end :)**

**Thank you everyone who voted for this story, Levi's, and/or Annie's for the Pup and Leech Awards, I really appreciate your support! Also congrats to yay4shanghai, ari11990, and laurazuleta18 for their wins!**

**As always I recommend you read the other spinoffs by liljenrocks, ari11990, AsagariMelody, Guzhong, twihardcaligurl, intiMACYx33, and TwilightHeart21. They are fantastic and worth taking the time to read. **

**Thanks to my awesome beta, yay4shanghai, for being so incredible all the time!**

* * *

**I Will Always Love You Part II**

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June 2039

**Day 1 continued...**

_Not giving me a second to come down from the high he'd worked me into, he bent, sucking one of my darkened nipples between his puffy lips while plunging two fingers into my wet core and pumping. The sound of my panting, gasping cries of pleasure filled the room loudly as Taylor worshipped my body, keeping me in a constant state of ecstasy. _

_The tip of his hot moist tongue traced the puckered peak before he caught it with his teeth, biting just enough to bring me over the edge again as I found my release, thrashing wildly beneath him and bucking into his hand, the heel of which rubbing my mound while his fingers bent to pressed directly against the most sensitive area inside me. My vision clouded and for a second I think I blacked out. _

When coherency returned to my mind, I discovered that his magical fingers were still inside me, continuing their sure stroking, though almost lazily as he brought me down and relinquished my taunt nipple from the enticing prison of his mouth. Easing down my body, he removed his hand, replacing it with his mouth. He licked my slit from my entrance up to my clit where he closed his lips around the swollen bundle.

"Uhh-o-ooh!" I cried, feeling his tongue on me, my hips gyrating up off the bed, my body instinctively wanting more, desiring to be filled. His fingers found my entrance again, dipping easily inside, aided by my abundant arousal, but this time he added a third finger, something he'd never done before and it was a little uncomfortable initially as he stretched me in an attempt to better prepare me for him, but that quickly passed and it actually increased the sensations and amped my anticipation for him. His tongue swirled over my bundle of nerves in neat figure eights as his fingers pumped into me, curling up to hit my g-spot with unerring accuracy every stroke.

I felt the scalding heat of his arousal brush my leg, telling me more easily than any words ever could that he wanted me, now. I didn't think I could handle waiting another minute, another second even to feel him. What he was doing felt amazing, it always had and I had no doubt it would continue to, and I was so close, but I was ready to experience the rest, to feel what else we had to offer each other.

"Enough foreplay, I want you, Tay. I want to feel you inside me," I begged desperately, grabbing whatever I could reach of him and dragging him up my body to speed the process, rushing him because I was unwilling to remain patient any longer.

"Alright," he said nervously settling between my parted legs, his elbows forming brackets around me, bracing him to keep most of his weight off of me though I wanted to feel it. I reached up to hold the sides of his face, focusing on his eyes and the unreadable emotion clouding them like fog on a hilltop, preventing what was typically an expansive clear view that allowed you to see as far as you dared to look.

"What's wrong?" I asked anxiously, my stomach twisting in painful knots at the thought of stopping now or of him changing his mind about wanting to have sex with me.

"I don't want to hurt you and I know this will," he admitted dipping down for a quick kiss that I interpreted as him letting me know he meant what he said and that it wasn't about not wanting to.

"I'll be fine, don't worry. You could never hurt me and I want this, so, so much. Please," I said sincerely, rocking my hips towards him so his tip slid along my slit between my folds and he nodded, reaching down to position himself at my readied entrance before gripping my hip. He paused, looking deeply into my eyes and I pushed upward making his tip entered me.

"Oh," I gasped, awed that anything could feel so amazing and shocked how it was even better when he nudged forward a bit more. "More," I demanded urgently, wrapping my arms and legs around his body to tug him toward me. "I want to feel all of you, I need you, Taylor," I spoke against his lips when he bent to kiss me.

"Urgghh," he groaned, "you have no idea what you're doing to me saying things like that. Keep it up and this'll be over before we even get started," he panted, shaking slightly as he pressed his lips hard against mine for the briefest of moments before looking into my eyes again, no longer teasing, just passionate and loving. I reached up to cup his face and he blinked slowly, purposely, while rubbing his cheek against my hand.

He was the most gorgeous person I had ever seen and so loving and smart. I was constantly in awe of how amazing he is and now that this moment had finally arrived, I wanted to tell him every bit of that, but I couldn't make my mouth form a single word. It didn't matter though, because he understood, smiling faintly, then with our eyes locked, he entered me fully in a single sure plunge. I winced slightly because it did hurt, though not nearly as bad as I'd expected and there was definitely a great deal more pleasure than pain and what miniscule pain there was vanished almost instantly while I stared up at him slightly dazed and breathless.

"Mel," he breathed, saying my name like a caress while remaining motionless at first, waiting for my body to adjust to this new intrusion and I could tell he was just as absorbed in a combination of watching my reaction and experiencing it all himself as I was. Nothing had ever felt so… _right_ in my entire life as having him buried deep inside me.

His breathing was labored as he stained to remain motionless, so running my hands up his back and into the soft, downy black hair at the nape of his neck, I pulled him down for a kiss, hoping to express the wealth of emotion currently consuming me while rolling my hips against him to let him know it was okay to move now. He did, slowly at first, but at a steady pace, pulling almost entirely out before plunging back in and I eagerly met his every thrust, greedily taking him in. I gasped each time he entered me, feeling like it was the first time all over again and I felt more than heard him name, "Tay," escape my lips. It was pulled from deep within my chest and carried on a throaty moan while feeling myself shiver as tiny quakes rolled through me and I was unable to articulate more than that.

Once I became more familiar with the wealth of sensations bombarding me and I got a handle on the overwhelming pleasure rolling through me, I rolled us over. Sitting up, I braced my hands on his stomach then rocked harder and faster on him, my sensitive bundle scraping roughly against the hot skin of his pelvis in a near continuous stimulation as I moved. I could tell instantly that he liked this new position better, his eyes leaving mine for the first time to avidly watch my bouncing breasts.

"Ahhh," he moaned, his eyes fluttering closed when I clenched my inner muscles around him experimentally. He filled me completely, stretching my walls in a way that made my entire body quiver with emotion. "You feel amazing, so hot and tight," he breathed and I felt myself release a new surge of wetness at his words, making us both groan. He guided my hips, urging me harder onto him. "Fuck! Mel, I love you so damn much!"

His declaration made my heart sing just as my breathing became irregular, a result of him reaching up to tweak my stiff nipples, rolling them between his fingers before gently tugging and pinching them harder. I felt the pressure in my core, like there was an invisible string connecting the sensitive places he was stimulating and the pleasure it caused made my head fall back as I moaned, "hmmm," while continuing to ride him, his hips bucking up to meet me as I slammed down on his rigid shaft.

The tension in the pit of my stomach was growing as he continued his attentions on my nipples, coiling impossibly tighter at an unbelievable rate then releasing with an unexpected suddenness. It hit me with an absolutely mind blowing intensity and I promptly collapsed forward, falling onto Tay's chest, yelling, "uuggghhhhhh!"

He rolled me back beneath him and kissed me until I recovered. I felt his hands caressing me, gently exploring the curves of my body while I did the same to his, and never ceasing his deep, penetrative strokes where our bodies were intimately joined. He set an almost languid pace that worked to prime me, recoiling the spring at my center so I was prepared to climb that sublime peak once again.

Our bodies slid easily against one another, slick with sweat from our combined heat which seemed to radiate outwards, quickly diffusing away from our skin though lingering in the air surrounding us like a shell. It wasn't smothering or oppressive, rather soothing instead. His mouth blazed a fiery trail of searing kisses across my cheek and down my neck to the hollow of my throat, playfully nipping at the tender skin, making me jerk and buck my hips up harder and erratically to meet his before he'd ease the stinging tickle of his bite with the flat of his tongue.

When my breathing, still coming to me in swift pants, had at least morphed into a steady rhythm, he sat up on his knees, pulling my hips upward so my knees were bent and I placed my feet on the mattress to brace myself. He kept his grip on hips, holding them in place as he thrust forward, harder and faster than he had previously, he was getting close and I urged him on with my breathy groans knowing how he loved to hear me.

"Aghhh!" I moaned in rapturous delight as this new position allowed him to hit my g-spot every time. My head thrashed wildly against the bed as smaller orgasms crashed through me repetitively, one right after another like waves on a beach, each more intense than the last like ripples on a pond expanding outward.

"Is this too… ugh… hard?" Tay grunted worriedly, his question carried to me on the sweet smelling expelled air of his rapid breathing. I felt his grip loosening a fractional amount on my hips and I bucked harder against him, taking him in deeper than he'd been yet.

"No, it's amazing—don't stop! Please, don't stop," I gasped out frantically, barely remembering how to form words, but something primitive within me forced them out, fearing he'd stop if I didn't.

"Never," he breathed and I felt my back arching even more till just the tips of my curled toes touched the mattress when he repositioned his hand so one of his fingers reached my clit, which he had begun rubbing while simultaneously increasing the speed of his thrusts, plunging deeply as every muscle in my body contracted, seeming to pull in on itself.

The combination of his ministrations assaulting my senses quickly became my undoing and after a few more strokes, I felt my core clench tightly around him, locking him in a vice grip when I reached the precipice I had been climbing to. And as if I'd suddenly leapt from the cliff's edge, the fibers of my body ruptured, flying apart as shuttering spasms racked my frame and I shouted, "Taylor!"

"I love you," he grunted after a couple more thrusts, his chest heaving and I watched him with rapt attention. I couldn't speak, too riveted by the captivating site of his climax. He froze buried deep inside me as his body seized up, convulsing within me when he let go, exploding with a strangled cry, "Ahh!"

I gasped when I felt the warmth of his release fill me in a very satisfying way before he freed his hold on my hips. I felt his softening member slip from me as we toppled to the bed, side by side in a tangle of sweaty, boneless limbs, each of us panting and pleasantly satiated. I missed its presence at once, the feeling of completeness that I'd experienced when we were connected, like we really had merged into a single being because the only way I could ever be that whole was if he was a part of me.

"I love you," I whispered reverently when he stirred to stretch out his long legs and pull me onto his chest and he stilled, gazing deeply into my eyes.

"You're everything, more than everything to me," he said with a fierce intensity backing the words that made me shiver and goose bumps break out on my skin. "Was it… are you… I mean, did you—" he began hesitantly, his usual air of confidence wavering till his voice shook with almost shy uncertainty and I rushed to cut him off.

"It—you, were more incredible than anything I could have ever imagined… absolutely perfect," I assured him as sincerely as I was capable of being, fighting the urge to gush as happiness filled every cell of my body and if it were helium, I'd be floating away like a hot air balloon.

His answering smile stretched widely across his beautiful face, his cheeks stained slightly with pink from our exertions and he appeared to glow with the same happiness I felt. He had such a profound affect on me, knowing he too was happy caused my feelings to multiply exponentially till I felt a giddy excitement surge through me with a dizzying ferocity that made my nerves vibrate, tingling with anticipation and a rejuvenated vitality.

Tay chuckled knowingly and tugged me closer, kissing my temple, the closest thing to his mouth, tenderly. His arms encircling my waist, holding me pressed close against him with one of his hands squeezing the gentle swell of my hip while the other wound through my hair cradling my head in his palm. His touch acted like Greek fire, igniting a blaze along my skin with flames of desire sparking in my core and once burning, nothing could put it out.

It had only been a couple minutes, my heart was still racing at a rapid staccato from before, but I already wanted more, to touch, taste, and feel him again. I wasn't sure eternity would be long enough to ever get used to my desire for him. His touch acted like electricity, recharging me like a battery because though I should be exhausted, I felt more energetic than I ever had before and the rapidly quickening thumping of his heart let me know he felt it too. We were like a self-sustaining energy unit, fueling each other.

I breathed his heady scent, now musky yet still remarkably fresh and clean as I began trailing a line of kisses over his chest making a path up to his ear, which I tugged with my teeth and he moaned in response. I felt the hot thickness of his erection pressing against my hip causing a corresponding rush of wetness at my entrance. His hands begin to roam, feather light caresses, over every inch of me he could reach, stopping to pinch my hardened nipples making me moan as well before he reached for me again, both of us already recovered enough and eager to partake in round two.

He hitched my leg up over his hip and eased back into me, his slow movements almost exquisitely torturous. His head dipped down to suck on my pulse point while one of his hands was wedged between us rolling my pointed nipple between two fingers as the other gripped and kneaded my butt, guiding me to meet his languid thrusts. I kept one hand around one of his butt cheeks massaging as well while the other explored the sinewy muscles forming the planes of his defined back, feeling how they swelled and rippled beneath my fingers.

"Ahh," he gasped against my neck when I traced the shell of his ear with the tip of my tongue then lightly grazing the lobe with my teeth. His back arched and his hips rocked forward, pushing him deeper into me and my breath caught at the feeling. He paused, pulling his head back to see me and holding my hips still, keeping the connection for a second longer before settling back into an unhurried tempo he'd set for us, every stroke slow and reverent as he loved my body in the most primitive and ancient of ways.

His dark velvety eyes watched me in fascination, scanning my face to read the emotions flashing across it like a slide show. My eyes became riveted on his lips, which were parted enticingly and I darted forward to suck on the silky pink flesh of his swollen lower lip, catching it between my teeth with little jerk that made him thrust erratically for a few seconds.

I was completely unprepared when my orgasm happened. It had been building so slowly that I hadn't realized it was at all and by then I was already toppling over the peak, getting lost in the throes of passion as my quivering, pulsating walls clamped down on the scorching length of him embedded deeply within me.

He was on top again when the pleasure finally receded, but carefully holding his weight off of me. I reached out and tugged on his arms and he looked at me in question, stopping altogether for a moment and I whimpered, aching for the delicious friction caused by him moving within me, undulating provocatively against him. "I want to feel you on me, all of you. Don't hold back, I can take it, remember?"

"Tell me if it's too much?" He asked cautiously, his voice husky with lust and I nodded, promising I would, though I knew it would never be too much. He let go, lying fully atop me and kissing me soundly as his hands trailed up and down my sides. I wrapped my legs around his hips and linked my ankles behind him, tilting my pelvis up to get a better angle and take him in deeper as I met his thrusts with wild abandon. With our lips sealed together our grunts and moans were captured in the others' mouth, mixing and jumbling together in between.

My arms threaded behind his back, my hands gripping his sexily bedraggled hair, keeping him solidly against me. I felt the nubs of his tight brown nipples rub over the tender skin of my breasts. I couldn't get enough of the sensual feel combined with the potent taste of his mouth, but all too soon I felt my muscles become taunt with my impending release. Taylor was close too, his thrusts becoming faster, less controlled and after two more he stilled, grinding his hips fiercely against my mound as he erupted, taking me soaring over the edge with him.

I was shivering, my body still reeling from the intensity of my release and the tidal wave of emotions that washed through me on its heels. I didn't know, I hadn't thought myself capable of feeling such raw and powerful emotions.

Taylor lifted himself up by his elbows to see me, but I wrapped my arms around his waist and urged him back down to me, unable and unwilling to resist the all consuming need to touch and feel him. He gathered me to him, wedging his arms beneath me and pressing his body firmly to mine, his face buried in the hollow of my neck where he placed sweet loving kisses, till the tremors passed then lifted himself back up to gaze into my eyes once more.

Reaching up, I pulled his face down to kiss me. The kiss was languid with none of the frenzied passion we experienced during our wild love making. Instead it contained the deeper emotions of our everlasting and unbreakable bond, our eternal promise of love and devotion.

When we broke apart, Tay rolled us over and held me close, his hands gently tracing a path over my exposed skin, lazy strokes from my shoulders to the small of my back while my head rested on his chest, listening to his heartbeat return to normal, slowly steadying out, my own fingers outlining the individual muscles of his abdominal. Words were unnecessary, as they often were for us, in fact they might have ruined the intimacy of the moment had they been uttered. I had never felt closer or more connected to Taylor than I did right then.

Tay shifted, moving his leg slightly where it was interlocked with mine and I winced when I felt how our skin stuck uncomfortable together from the evidence of our previous activities lay dying between my legs, remnants of the pleasure we'd just experienced. The muscles in his chest rippled beneath my cheek as he shifted again, sitting up and pulling me with him then helping me to my feet. I followed him as he led me from the room, both of us comfortably naked and my hand gently clasped within his.

We ended up in the bathroom and I hopped up on the counter when he indicated I should. I watched him curiously as he rummaged through the small linen closet, having no idea what was going on, but content to let it play out. He smiled at me over his shoulder before turning back to face me. I noticed the washcloth in his hand and felt myself blush a little when he wet it and moved to stand between my legs, though I shouldn't have considering our level of intimacy.

I let him carefully wipe the sticky residue of our combined desire from between my legs, the act strangely intimate in a very different way than what we'd done previously. "I didn't want you to be uncomfortable," he explained shyly in a slightly rough voice as he stared at me and I dipped forward to kiss him in thanks, loving his considerate nature. He stepped closer, leaning into my kiss and I felt the evidence of his renewed arousal press against my parted thigh.

"You want me again," I marveled looking down to see the evidence supporting my claim and as if I needed extra proof, he noticeably hardened under the directness of my excited gaze.

"I don't think a day has gone by since you phased that I haven't wanted you like this," he said honestly, a little derision coating his words in self-mockery.

"Really?"

"Never doubt it," he said seriously.

"Mmm," I moaned feeling my own desire stirring and I urged him to me by wrapping my legs around his waist, locking him in place, but he broke the kiss and stepped back as far as he could within the confines of my encircling legs.

"You're already going to be sore tomorrow, Sweetie. I don't want to make it any worse," he answered my silent question and I smiled at his sweet, though unnecessary concern.

"Superfast healing abilities over here, remember? And even if I am sore tomorrow, I'll worry about it then. Right now I want to enjoy more of you since I feel fine… better that fine even," I giggled, wiggling my eyebrows suggestively.

"You don't have to, Mel. It—"

"I know I don't have to," I said dismissively rolling my eyes. "I _want_ to." When he still looked hesitant and much too uncertain for my liking, I grabbed his hand, pulling it to my practically dripping sex saying, "see? I need you just as much." He worked his fingers in me, pumping them a few times seeming almost awed that I actually wanted him again so soon as well. I felt insatiable and told him as much, "I can't get enough of you, I constantly want more, to touch more and feel more of you… you're irresistible."

I cupped the side of his face and his eyes closed and I could see his long eyelashes fanning across the crests of his cheeks before he turned his face to kiss the palm of my hand where he whispered raggedly, "I love you, Melody."

"I love you, Taylor!" My words becoming a startled gasp as he removed his hand from between my legs and replaced it with his rigid, pulsing hot shaft, impaling me to the hilt using every bit of his werewolf speed to make the transition.

My back arched and my head came to rest against the mirror and he took advantage, dipping down to suck the peak of one of my taunt nipples into his mouth while his arms wrapped around me, bracing my back with his elbows at the small of my back and his hands curling around my shoulders. I tightened the grip I had on him with my legs, lifting my hips to meet his while my hands clung to the ridges of his shoulder blades.

His mouth traced a blazing trail across my chest with wet open-mouthed kisses before his lips curling around the dark bud of my other nipple. He caught it with his teeth, lightly tugging and I bucked wildly, my hands clawing his back for purchase as I cried out upon reaching the peak of my climax.

He didn't let up, driving hard and faster into me as he moved to capture my mouth, plunging his tongue forward in time with the frantic rhythm of our joining. Within seconds I came again, his touch undoing me and I brought him with me, savoring the feeling of him shuttering inside me.

He tipped forward, panting heavily, his body covered in sweat, to brace his massive hands on the open countertop beside me hips and rest his forehead on mine. I could hear the knocking of his heart and I counted the beats as I got my own breathing back under control. It was a while before either of us moved or spoke, but eventually we did.

"We should get some sleep. We have to be up in two hours if we want to shower before seeing Amber off," he informed me, his voice still a little uneven as he watched me rewet the discarded washcloth and clean up again. I glanced at the shower and heard his breath hitch and his heart skip a beat. Turning back to him, I saw his dilated eyes and knew his thoughts mimicked mine.

"Shower? The shower sounds fun," I whispered coyly, trailing my hand down his body suggestively before wrapping my hand tightly around his semi-hard length.

I already wanted him again, as unbelievable as it was. I had just experienced an entirely new and altogether complete level of satisfaction that had in no way worn off or disappeared, but I already wanted more. The idea seemed impossible to comprehend or rationalize, but there was no mistaking the feeling. It was churning in the pit of my stomach, making my nerves tingle wherever he touched.

"You're killing me," he joked with a disbelieving laugh and pulled my hand away. Looking up he caught the playful pout I was giving him and giggled, helping me down from the counter. "Come on, Nymph, sleep first then we can get back to that," he promised squeezing my hand as he said it.

Two hours… I _think_ I can handle waiting that long.

~*~ ∞ ~*~


	9. The Start of Our Forever

**A/N: Any wolves you recognize from The Twilight Saga belong to Stephanie Meyer.**

**Basically everything else, including past and present wolf pack members, imprints, wolf families, and additional characters in this story belong to the universe created by the amazing, brilliant, and wonderfully talented yay4shanghai!**** She even has dibs on the plot… I just wrote it :)**

**Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed, I really appreciate your feedback and getting to hear what you think! **

**As always I recommend you read the other spinoffs by liljenrocks, ari11990, AsagariMelody, Guzhong, twihardcaligurl, intiMACYx33, and TwilightHeart21. They are fantastic and worth taking the time to read. **

**Thanks to my wonderful beta, yay4shanghai, for all her help and advice for where to go from here to end this story, you're amazing!**

* * *

**The Start of Our Forever**

* * *

June 2039

**Day 2**

"Mellie, wake up sweetie." The words floated to me from somewhere far away, barely penetrating the haze of sleep clouding my head that acted like cotton muffling his voice.

"Mmm-uhh, just five more minutes. I'm having the best dream ever," I pleaded absently, inhaling deeply to breathe more of Taylor's appealing fresh scent, which brought to mind delicious images of the two of us engaged in an erotic dance.

"Alright, but if you get up now we can try out the shower like you wanted," he whispered suggestively into my ear while his hand slid between my legs to caress me intimately and I gasped as reality snapped back into focus taking center stage in the forefront of my mind.

"It wasn't a dream!" I yelled sitting up to face Taylor in amazed wonderment. He grinned, obviously amused by my startled revelation. The knowledge that I was the source of his happiness caused bubbles of joy to fill me, expanding and popping with delightful little bursts of cheer.

"I should hope I'm better than a dream," he joked cockily, his hand still working furiously against my sensitive bundle of nerves, purposely generating a vivid spike in my needy desire for him.

"Can't remember, guess you need to remind me," I coyly teased, noticing he was naked. My eyes zeroed in on his very stiff erection, which twitched as I stared, unconsciously licking my lips, making him groan in response.

"Mel," he mockingly whined, drawing the syllable of my name out.

"Oh God, trust me you are," I declared reverently unable to stand it any longer and moving to straddle him, but he scooped me up, kissing me hungrily. He held me against his chest by my butt as he stood and strode from the room. My legs wound around his waist linking at the ankle, while my hands gripped his head, weaving through his silky ebony hair and locking him to me. I plundered his sweet mouth with my tongue as I'd been craving to do since my eyes first opened.

"No time for that, we're running late as it is," he explained between kisses, his words coming out fragmented and disjointed as he struggled to tear him lips from mine long enough to pant the words. I was aware of nothing except him until I felt the cascading water drench my skin an instant before I was roughly slammed against the tiled wall of his shower.

"Ahhh," I moaned when he plunged deeply into me in the same fluid movement. He hooked one of my legs over his forearm, urging it higher and changing the angle that he entered me, allowing him to penetrate deeper. I felt his leg come up to rest on the ledge of the bathtub and he braced himself against the wall, thrusting fast and hard. His chest pressed against mine keeping my back firmly in place while my hips rocked forward eagerly to meet his every driving stroke, feeling the steady build of pressure rising rapidly in my core.

"Fuck, Mel," he gritted out through clenched teeth as his hips began grinding furiously against my mound and he lifted my leg higher causing him to press exquisitely against my g-spot.

"Yes! Yes, Tay, please," I begged clutching his shoulders tightly, digging my nails into the tender flesh to secure a hold of his slippery damp skin causing him to hiss and buck erratically. I gasped, feeling every molecule in my body burst in pleasure upon reaching the pinnacle and soaring over with a hoarse cry, "uhh."

"Sss—urgghhh," Taylor's hiss morphed into a throaty groan that mingled with mine as he reached his release, exploding deeply within me, shuttering and filling me with his warmth.

"Wait," I requested when he unhitched my leg and moved to step back, but I locked the newly freed leg firmly around him where my other leg was already positioned to prevent Tay from pulling away. I could still feel him, semi-hard and embedded deeply within my sex and I honestly wasn't ready to loose the feeling of being united with him yet. It was still so new I wanted to savor it.

He smiled in understanding and wrapped his arms around my waist, kissing me sweetly. I tightened my grip, keeping him imprisoned against and within my body while the rapidly cooling lukewarm water pounded his back. I clenched my inner muscles and felt him harden; coming completely awake again till his shaft stretched my walls, filling me with his thickness. I squeezed him again, squirming a bit in his arms, anxious and straining for the friction of his movements.

"Yeah?" He asked with a bemused giggle as he kissed the tip of my nose and began easing into a slow and persistent rhythm. I buried my face in the soft skin of his neck, breathing him in and kissing any and every bit of him my lips could reach.

"Uhh," I gasped when his hands moved to knead the yielding flesh of my butt, guiding my hips and keeping them from attempting to pick up the leisurely pace he set while my hands ran up and down over the rippling streamline muscles in his back. "I love you, Taylor. I want to do this with you every single day for the rest of eternity," I confessed before beseeching him, "please, promise me we can. I'll never stop needing and wanting you like this."

"Yes. Yes, Mel, of course… whatever you want," he vowed instantly. "I love you—you already know I want the same, that I feel the same." He followed his reverent words with a passionate kiss, finally meeting my silent plea for more, not stopping till we reached our simultaneous gasping release. With one last sweet kiss Tay broke away and reached for his shampoo.

"Shit! We're going to be late," he said when he caught sight of his watch, quickly discarding the unused bottle. "We were supposed to be there half an hour ago," he said abruptly turning off the now chilly pelting of water and jumping out. I stood there laughing, unable to help myself as I admired his body while he frantically scrambled around looking for a towel, which he tossed directly to me once finding. Even when his movements were chaotic and jumbled there was an easy, fluid grace about his body.

"Tay, she won't leave without saying bye. It's a private plane remember?" I pointed out logically between giggles and he paused to smile evilly at me.

"Come here you," he commanded, chuckling as he tossed me over his shoulder and headed for his room. He dropped me unceremoniously on his bed and threw me my rumpled dress from where it was lying forgotten on the floor and I quickly tugged it on before darting into the front room for my shoes while he grabbed a pair of shorts for himself. "We'll get there faster if we run," he said coming into the front room just as I finished putting on my heels and hurriedly followed him out the door.

We didn't get very far before I tripped, cursing, "damn shoes," making Tay laugh and pull me up onto his back. "Thanks," I giggled. I don't know what I was thinking to wear them, I would have been much better off barefoot.

"We are really going to have to work on having a quickie," he stated with a weighted significance to his words like it was of dire importance that we do.

"I'm all for working on it, but I don't see how we could possibly improve it," I replied seriously catching his ear between my lips and feeling his steps falter as he ran when I did.

"I meant working on the quick part… there's nothing quick about lasting an hour," he corrected giggling as the woods we were running through began to thin, the splintered sunlight filtering in through the canopy becoming brighter and his grip on my thighs tightened.

"But it sure was fun," I purred, running a hand down his smooth russet chest before dipping it under the elastic band of his shorts and brushing the tips of my fingers across the velvety skin of his stiffening length as I tilted my head to kiss the tender spot on his neck that always managed to draw an enticing moan from him.

"Shit, Melody! We're almost there, stop that!" He chided just as his family, the Cullen clan, and other European visitors here for the wedding came into view and I reluctantly removed my hand, though only after a little encouraging tug from him to make me.

The good weather from yesterday had continued into today. The plane was parked on one of the relatively unused airstrips at the edge of the remote airport in Forks. No one else was around at this early hour though the Cullens still stood in the shade beside the plane to keep from glittering in the open, habit I assume from years of learning to blend in with humans.

"You almost missed seeing me off, we're about to leave," Amber called as Tay jogged up, bringing us to a halt directly in front of her. I hopped off his back, immediately pulling Amber in for a hug.

"Sorry, we were otherwise occupied." I heard Taylor apologize with a chuckle, not really sounding all that sincere about our being late from where he stood watching me engulf Amber in my arms, bending slightly because I was so much taller, especially in heels.

"That's obvious," she taunted with a thrilled laugh before teasing, "you could have showered first." I pulled away laughing too, stepping aside to give Taylor room to reach her.

"Oh, we did. It was great!" Taylor joked with a playful wink before embracing her in one of his signature hugs.

"I know you always have, but take care of her," Amber advised him, glancing at me under his arm and I loved her so much in that moment. She really was my big sister, always making me feel like family and looking after me like one.

"Make sure Ethan takes care of you and call if you need anything. I can be on the next flight if you ever need me," Taylor informed her lovingly, his words thickly laced with emotion, both of them sniffling a bit before they let go and we quickly said goodbye to the others, trying to keep things lighthearted and easy so Jared and Kim didn't start crying again, the big softies.

After Amber boarded the plane I noticed Kim smirking at us and I beamed back her, blushing brightly before I noted that Jared was looking everywhere except at us, though I'd caught him and Tay sharing a grin earlier, and Annie was whispering excitedly to Brady about us and giggling. As the plane took off, I suddenly felt like I was standing naked in front of a room full of strangers, instantly becoming the center of attention in our small group since our other distraction had departed.

"Well, uh, we're going to head out," Taylor announced as if sensing my discomfort or perhaps wanting to escape his own, explaining, "busy day, things to do…" Brady released a barking laugh when Tay trailed off and I heard Jared groan, his eyes closing tightly as he hugged Kim closer.

"Yeah, umm, I guess we'll just see you guys later," I added awkwardly, bounding back onto Tay's back.

"Call me!" I heard Annabelle's distant shout a few second after Taylor took off, carrying me back to his place and I giggled kissing the black marking of his infinity tattoo.

"Think it's funny now, just wait till we're with your family," he grumbled, which only made me laugh harder, even more so after I heard his stomach growl, angrily protesting extra activity without adequate compensation.

I headed straight for the kitchen when we got back, moving to find something easy to prepare for the two of us. I settled on spaghetti, figuring it was easy and we could do with the carbo-load, especially if today turned out to be anything like last night. And if this morning was anything to go by, it definitely would be. I turned towards the stove, but Tay stopped me with a heated kiss, during which he removed the box of pasta from my hand and set it on the counter.

"Here, let me," he said lowly with one arm around my waist keeping me pressed against him as he reached up to grab a pot. "I think we're both hungry and we could do with something edible," he teased kissing me again before I could protest and not stopping till I forgot why I'd been about to.

I hopped up on the island's countertop to watch him as he prepared sauce to go with it, adding spices and some finely chopped fresh vegetables to a jar of plain tomato sauce, something I never would have thought to do. He looked incredibly sexy and I hauled him to me, dipping forward to kiss him while we waited for the pasta to boil and the sauce to simmer.

"You are so damn hot when you cook," I breathed when the timer went off and I was forced to release him.

"Only when I cook or just cuz you're so hungry right now?" He asked laughing while preparing plates for us.

"God, I really am starving," I admitted animatedly while eagerly accepting the proffered dish and starting in on it immediately. He moved to stand across from me, leaning back against the counter next to the sink. "But you know I think you're the hottest, sexiest, most attractive—take your pick, man alive," I said casually between bites.

"Mel." I glanced up when he said my name, noting the subtle change in mood, easily detectable by the fire lighting his eyes and the sudden appearance of desire gathering at my core. He'd already set his half finished plate aside and I rushed to do the same before reaching down to remove my shoes.

"No," he commanded, stepping forward to stand between my legs. "Leave them on, you look sexy as hell in them," he lowly murmured as his hands trailed up my thighs, easing my dress up as he went. I shifted, lifting my arms to help him pull it off.

Tay stood motionless, taking me in and it felt like his eyes were scorching a path over my body. With each passing second my heart beat faster till I finally couldn't take it any longer and reached between us, I pushed his shorts down over his hips, letting the unwanted hindrance fall to floor.

I twisted one leg behind Tay, the side of my heeled foot resting on his butt cheek. I urged him forward and he came willingly, grabbing my hips and scooting me to the edge of the island. The kitchen was small enough that from where I was sitting, I could stretch my other leg out and brace it against the other counter. The counters were at precisely the right height for this and I wondered if that was on purpose since I knew he'd redone the kitchen while working on the house.

He ran his tip along my wet folds before nudging forward at my entrance. About an inch slipping in with ease, but when he pushed more, I felt my body moved back, sliding over the smooth polished surface of the wooden countertop. We both giggled, unprepared for the lack of friction to keep me in place and I let go of him to grab the edge, sliding forward again and farther onto him. His grip tightened on my hips and I tightened mine as well when he thrust into me completely, our bodies merging perfectly.

I kissed him ardently, sucking on his big bottom lip, feeling like I was getting drunk on champagne, the bubbles going straight to my head till I was giddy, tipsy on his love and his loving. I was on sensory overload as new sensations constantly bombarded me and I let go, falling into a sea of mindless, fiery pleasure.

Lying back, I was able to meet his thrusts much more easily and I quickly demanded, "harder!" He responded at once, eagerly giving in to my raspy plea, delving into me with powerful, solid strokes that I rocked up to meet, the building desire urging me on and we moaned as the heat and tension mounted.

He continued roughly driving into me, deliberately slamming in all the way to the hilt every time so his hips ground mercilessly against my clit and he hit the sweet pleasure point inside me each time till I reached my climax, exploding in all directions and taking him with me. Dense spasms of bliss radiated outward as we went over the sublime summit. Tay collapsed forward, panting, and I held his sweaty, shuttering body close as we both recovered.

"I have to buy more stilettos if this is the kind of reward I can expect for wearing them," I told him once my rapid breathing had slowed enough to allow me to speak. Tay nodded fervently and grinned in excitement, apparently liking the idea, which was more than enough incentive for me.

~x~*~x~

**Day 4**

The afterglow of our most recent joining was finally starting to dim. This one having lasted the longest and I almost felt up to moving again, though Tay wasn't stirring yet and he generally was the first to bounce back. This had, without a doubt, been the most vigorous session we'd had and my head was still reeling from the Earth shattering experience it had turned out to be. Honestly, I had never felt so energized and alive in my life, or so deliciously sore and satiated afterwards.

I'm still not quite sure how it happened, but the spare bedroom looked like a demolition crew on a rampage had come through and we were buried in the wreckage. Saying it had been intense, didn't been to cover it. That was like saying it was chilly in Antarctica, a complete understatement, but it was the best I could come up with.

We were lying sprawled out on the floor amid smashed boxes, various cloth items like extra bedding and clothes, the remains of a now broken table—it wasn't nearly as sturdy as we'd thought it would be, and the rather uncomfortable and slightly bent metal bars that made up the frame for the bed that used to be in "my" old room when he had his apartment. All I could distinctly recall was that I'd come in here a few hours ago and Tay had followed me. The rest was just a blur of stumbling over things, wild tumbling, sweaty, tangled limbs, rolling around, rough shoving, racing hearts, frenzied groping, and countless mind blowing orgasms. I saw it as a sign that it was finally time for us to finish the house by putting this room in order, decorate and make it into a spare bedroom.

"Call in sick today," I said partly as a suggestion, though mostly as a plea. He'd already called in yesterday, but I didn't want this to end yet and I could tell he didn't either. This was all still so new—for both of us.

Taylor may have had sex before, but not with a girl and not with his imprint, which was an entirely distinct experience involving a wholly separate set of emotions and happening at an utterly new level. He'd shared with me how profoundly different it felt and how significantly this affected him, having a much greater and more lasting impact. His previous encounter held a special place with him, as I expected it to, but he'd confessed that being with me far surpassed and overshadowed any understanding he'd gained from it concerning what pleasure was and the level of satisfaction that could be achieved with the union.

I didn't feel bad asking him to call in either. Since he never got sick, vacationed, or took personal days—he had a great work ethic, so he'd managed to store up an awful lot of sick days over the years and I was adamantly convinced he deserved the break. I was also more than willing to help him relax and enjoy himself during said time off.

"Well, if you insist," he agreed immediately and raising my head from it's resting place on his chest, I saw his delighted grin that made me very happy to have asked, especially when he pulled my hips more firmly against his.

"Oh I do, unless you plan on doing a stake out or whatever it's called where we could continue this in your car…" I trailed off as I rolled my hips against his for emphasis, already immensely liking the possibility. "I've always wanted to in your cop car… must be from a hidden rebellious streak or I'm after some kind of illicit thrill," I rationalized in a low murmur, attempting to sound seductive and arouse his interest in the idea.

"Tomorrow," he promised. "I can't wait that long right now," he declared rolling me beneath him while simultaneously burying himself completely within my slick warmth.

~x~*~x~

**Day 6**

"We'll have to ask your dad about a way to reinforce it when we hang it back up again," I stated while staring contemplatively up at the hole in Taylor's bedroom ceiling. I'd completely lost track of time since we got back from Taylor's night shift. I couldn't even tell you if it was an entirely new day, nor did I feel any pressing desire to find out anytime soon. The rest of the world had ceased to matter.

He'd picked me up half way through his shift, letting me catch up on some much needed sleep before that while he got some actual work done, then we'd enjoyed the rest of the evening making good use of his car in a deserted parking lot on the outskirts of Forks.

"I'll let you explain why," Taylor joked obviously believing I wouldn't.

I could imagine it now, hi Jared, I was wondering if you could help us with the hanging chair in Tay's bedroom… why did it fall in the first place you ask… well you see, we were trying to have sex in it and things got a little more exuberant than the poor ceiling could take and the hook came free taking a nice chunk of plaster with it… what's that, are we okay you ask… oh yes, we're fine, I mean my butt hurts in a not so pleasant way from the jarring fall, but luckily Taylor's penis was fine and we were able to pick up right where we left off not even noticing the rain of white plaster cascading onto us, sticking to our sweaty bodies where it became clay-like and smeared in little white streaks across our skin, thanks for the concern!

"Give me a phone and I'll do it right now," I bluffed and felt my eyes widen when he actually did locate my cell phone, which was plugged in to a wall charger and lying on floor beside his bed just barely within arm's reach.

"No, I don't really want you to call him," he quickly reassured me after chuckling at my incredulous expression. When I continued to stare at the phone he held with distrust instead of taking it, he explained, "you do need to call home though. I'm actually shocked your parents haven't shown up already demanding to see that you're alright. I forgot to call from the station the other day and this has to be double the longest we've ever gone without calling or checking in. I don't want them worrying about you."

Taking the phone from him, I filled it open and the screen lit up announcing eighteen missed called, twelve voicemails and twenty eight text messages. Our phones had been on silent since the wedding and hadn't bothered to check them before now, though Tay might have checked his while at work, I wasn't sure. I didn't really want to look now either because I'm betting most of these were from Annie calling when we were late seeing Amber off then more to tease me, Jesse because we'd had plans this week and I bailed without calling to cancel, and Freddie because both Tay and I skipped our patrols without making other arrangements with him. It was also pretty much a guarantee that at least a few of the missed calls were from my parents and that Levi had probably sent most of the texts since we usually chatted via text at least once a day.

I felt a little guilty for being so irresponsible, but not enough to regret spending the last week the way I had. This had specifically been Taylor and me time. Talking to others about anything would have interfered. Thinking about letting it interfere now, when I still wasn't ready to leave my self imposed isolation made me decide that it would probably be best simply to delete everything and just call people later instead of wasting precious time sifting through to see if any were important.

"Ugh, what if they want me to come home right now?" I whined not liking that idea at all and not looking forward to my assigned task.

"So text Levi and have him relay a message that you're fine," he suggested and I laughed thinking that was the perfect solution.

_Hey, can you tell mom and dad I'm at Tay's and fine?_

_No need, they know. I've missed you._ He responded almost at once. I stared at it confused, but before I could ask him how they knew, he sent an explanation.

_Dad and I came by a couple days ago. You two were busy so we left in a hurry._ I wasn't sure how to react to that, so I showed Tay what it said and he snatched the phone, swiftly texting his own questions.

_Is he mad? What'd he say?_ I saw him type, neither of us talking while we waited for him to reply, though I knew dad wouldn't be mad, he'd be a hypocrite if he was.

_Nothing. At all. I think he's processing so you probably have a couple days before you need to show up._ I grinned at Tay and he chuckled knowing exactly what I was thinking that meant for us.

_Thanks. Missed you too, see you soon._ I sent before tossing my phone to the side since I had better things in mind for how to spend the extra allotted time and none of them involved a phone or anyone besides Taylor, though later I'd see his reply of _yep. Nice job by the way ;)_

~x~*~x~

**Day 8**

"Wait!" I called urgently before Tay could open the front door, explaining simply, "we haven't had sex in here yet. We can't leave till we do."

"You gonna hold me prisoner till we do," he inquired with a teasing grin while he watched me saunter purposely towards him. That was exactly what I planned to do.

"Got a problem with that?" I asked cornering him, pushing him forcefully against the door.

"I think you just don't want to leave the house," Taylor accused knowingly, but flipped us around anyways, pinning me in his place instead and cupping my breasts in his palms. He ran his thumbs over the budded points of my nipples, which were covered only with a thin black cotton tank top and hardened at his light touch.

"I don't have a clue what you're referring to," I denied with feigned innocence, batting my eyes sweetly then tilting my head to kiss him while I arched my back to press my breasts more firmly into his hands.

"You don't want to face anyone. You're afraid it won't still be like this once we reemerge… that things will change… revert back to how they were," He was absolutely dead on about what I was thinking and feeling, but it was strange to hear the words spoken. I knew it wouldn't happen yet I couldn't stop the nagging voice whispering 'what if' into my ear, successfully making me believe it.

"Won't it?" I challenged reaching into his shorts to stroke his hardness. Tay pressed his forehead to mine and I could see clearly into his stunning dark orbs.

"No." He stated evenly despite his erratic breathing. "There's no way I can stand not being with you now that I have been," he claimed fiercely and I believed him instantly, his words banishing the unwanted voice and persistent doubts.

"Good, but I still want you right now… in here. We have to finish what we started." He was right about why I didn't want to leave, but that wasn't the only reason. This week had also been about equal parts me not being able to get enough of him and unequivocally showing him that I loved and desired him. I needed to make it clear to him how important he was to me and make him as happy as he made me.

"What—uhh, exactly was it… that we started?" He asked, his voice becoming rough and disjointed as I stroked him faster.

"Christening our house," I teased nipping at his puffy lower lip, sucking it into my mouth for a quick taste with a flick of my tongue before releasing it. "It requires us to make love in every room, you know, and somehow we forgot this one," I informed him seriously while pushing his pants to the floor then lifting my arms for him to lift my shirt off over my head.

"How negligent of us, poor room must feel all left out," he joked reaching down to remove my super short red denim cutoff shorts. "Still no underwear?"

"I'm a wolf too, you know. I thought going commando was like, a rule or something, so why should being a girl stop me?" I argued playfully, pushing him towards the couch and moving to straddle him, but he immediately wrestled me beneath him, laying me out and covering me fully.

"Hey, no complaints here… I was just stating a fact, a very wonderful, exciting, and… _unbelievably_ **sexy** fact," he said defensively, emphasizing his words and punctuating them with intimate caresses across my body before adjusting himself, positioning his tip at my wet entrance, but didn't enter me. "Your parents will smell it… worse than they already will," he reminded me reluctantly.

We were on our way to see them having already called to say we were on our way when I stopped him from leaving. We didn't have time to be doing this, let alone shower again afterwards considering they were already expecting us, but I couldn't bring myself to care. It wasn't like they didn't already going to know we'd just spent the last week doing the exact same thing.

"So let them. I'm not going to let that stop me from loving you…" I trailed off with a careless shrug. "They'll have to get used to it sooner or later and they've already smelled us fooling around for years. This can't be much worse," I pointed out logically. He didn't argue anymore after that, just happily obliged me.

~x~*~x~

Levi was waiting outside when we got to my house and he immediately hugged me. I think I missed him as much as he missed me. Opening the front door, I paused after noticing neither Taylor nor my brother had moved to follow. They were too busy doing that guy thing where they traded intimidating stares for a few seconds, but then Tay nodded in acknowledgment or acceptance or something along those lines because evidently they had somehow manage to convey an entire conversation in a single glare, complete with ominous threats of dire consequences should I get hurt, like Tay would ever hurt me. I rolled my eyes at their ridiculous display and went in assuming they'd follow.

It was around lunch time, so I headed for the kitchen feeling Taylor step up directly behind me, wrapping an arm around my waist. We walked into the room and no one said anything at first. Taylor's grip on me tightened, I could tell he was nervous, but then mom kicked dad under the table and he sighed, sitting up straighter but not looking up from the table. I uselessly tried to fix my bed head while waiting awkwardly for someone to speak first, because it sure wasn't going to be me.

"Hi guys," dad said uncomfortably, still not looking at us and mom chuckled, shaking her head at him and giving us a smug look much like Kim had.

"I want to move in with Taylor," I blurted out of nowhere, surprising myself as much as the others present because we had never discussed my doing so. It was always just amused that I would eventually, but probably not yet since this was only the summer before my sophomore year of high school. I didn't want to wait, not anymore and I wasn't sure I could. I needed the intimacy of the last week, wanted to experience it every single day and I knew we'd only get that if we were living at his place. "Now… officially that is," I added nervously.

Taylor spun me to face him, wonder and excitement lighting his features. "Really?" He asked, yanking me close for a big hug when I nodded. I looked over his shoulder to see my parents watching us with resigned expressions and my heart soared, they were going to let me!

"Three rules," my dad spoke up to say after clearing his throat. Rules? There were rules involved with not living at home? I thought part of the whole moving out thing was to get more freedom, not less. "First—four meals."

"What?" I asked in confusion.

"The five of us have at least four meals a week as a family, doesn't matter which meals and I don't care if its here or at his—your house, but we still have family time. I want to see my only daughter," he requested in a measured voice though his expression was a little doleful.

"Deal," I agreed readily, kind of relieved that he'd imposed that rule, both for the food and the company. Dad barely talked at meals anymore so it was a little surprising that he said this rather than mom, but I was really happy that he did. I didn't want to drift apart, that wasn't the point of me moving in with Tay. I wanted to because I couldn't stand the idea of not being that close to him, especially now.

"Second—you don't skip school or let your grades slip in favor of… other pursuits."

"I won't, I promise," I told him honestly, hopping on the balls of my feet as my excitement which had continued to build, overflowed. This was really happening! Curious to hear his final condition before I let myself celebrate too much, I hesitantly asked, "and third?"

"Refrain from sharing details… please," he answered dryly with a small, teasing smile.

~*~ ∞ ~*~


End file.
